Posted on 11/19/2003 5:48:22 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
The sacrifices of Americans have not always been recognized or appreciated, yet they have been worthwhile. Because we and our allies were steadfast, Germany and Japan are democratic nations that no longer threaten the world. A global nuclear standoff with the Soviet Union ended peacefully -- as did the Soviet Union. The nations of Europe are moving towards unity, not dividing into armed camps and descending into genocide. Every nation has learned, or should have learned, an important lesson: Freedom is worth fighting for, dying for, and standing for -- and the advance of freedom leads to peace. (Applause.)
And now we must apply that lesson in our own time. We've reached another great turning point -- and the resolve we show will shape the next stage of the world democratic movement. ***
The clairty and power of a simple, true idea builds as it sinks in.
A majority of Labour voters welcome President George Bush's state visit to Britain which starts today, according to November's Guardian/ICM opinion poll. The survey shows that public opinion in Britain is overwhelmingly pro-American with 62% of voters believing that the US is "generally speaking a force for good, not evil, in the world". It explodes the conventional political wisdom at Westminster that Mr Bush's visit will prove damaging to Tony Blair. Only 15% of British voters agree with the idea that America is the "evil empire" in the world. ...
The ICM poll also uncovers a surge in pro-war sentiment in the past two months as suicide bombers have stepped up their attacks on western targets and troops in Iraq. Opposition to the war has slumped by 12 points since September to only 41% of all voters. At the same time those who believe the war was justified has jumped 9 points to 47% of voters. This swing in the mood of British voters is echoed in the poll's finding that two-thirds of voters believe British and American troops should not pull out of Iraq now but instead stay until the situation is "more stable".
Somehow, I doubt we'll be hearing this from the TV networks, which will show just more footage of whacko protesters.
The saudi royal family just perked their ears up...enemy of my enemy is my friend no longer applies. I think Bush is takinga more principled stance vis a vis dictatorships and monarchies...the price we pay for suporting them is not worth short-term stability. If the US insists that ME countries must answer to their populace, this is a radical and welcome shift in our policy.
Imposing democracy on cultures foreign to it is a chancy business. After a savage and incredibly destructive war it was successfully done in Germany and Japan - and Europe in general seems to be willing to go to great lengths to avoid a repetition of WWII.
But Europe and Japan are the most advanced industrial societies in the world (along with the U.S.). Everywhere else success has been problematic. Russia? The former Soviet Republics? Latin America? Africa? The Middle East? Southeast Asia? Please.
The only notable exception is Israel - and that's because, culturally, Israel is a child of Western Europe.
So America will continue to pursue the Machiavellian defense of its national interests because that's the best policy available to it - or any other nation.
from today's speech...
Perhaps the most helpful change we can make is to change in our own thinking. In the West, there's been a certain skepticism about the capacity or even the desire of Middle Eastern peoples for self- government.
We're told that Islam is somehow inconsistent with a democratic culture, yet more than half of the world's Muslims are today contributing citizens in democratic societies. It is suggested that the poor, in their daily struggles, care little for self-government, yet the poor especially need the power of democracy to defend themselves against corrupt elites.
People from the Middle East share a high civilization, a religion of personal responsibility and a need for freedom as deep as our own.
It is not realism to suppose that one-fifth of humanity is unsuited to liberty. It is pessimism and condescension, and we should have none of it.
C-SPAN I covered the President's speech, and had a Telegraph correspondent and viewer comments on afterwards.
The correspondent mentioned some of this recent trend in the polls as the going has gotten tougher: The public's spine has stiffened. The reporter also said the President's allusions to WWII would hit home too with the Brits.
I don't know whether or not the "wogs" are culturally incapable of this or that (neither do you). I was just describing the world as it is and has been. Just because we wish it was something else doesn't mean it can or will be.
I hope so. Too bad it doesn't get through to the French, who are busy sitting around waiting for the country to be completely taken over by Muslim terrorists.
A glance at the worlswide distn of muslims at the following...
http://www.mepc.org/public_asp/workshops/musworld.asp
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