America-bashing has gone far enough

IMRA/Gulf News ^ | 2-4-07 | Khalaf Al Habtoor

[SJackson]

If you'd like to be on this middle east/political ping list, please FR mail me.

High Volume. Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel. or WOT [War on Terror]

----------------------------

[OldSmaj]

This is a crock of crap.

He says the America bashing should stop, but he bashes throughout the screed.

Nothing more than muslim/islamist cultist BS.

[IronJack]

the Middle East [is] a terminal victim of neo-imperialism, corporate greed and raw aggression.

If that were true, our imperialist forces could have conquered the entire Middle East decades ago. We could have held the world's oil deposits in our own hands and made all those Saudi petrol dollars our own. If we had done that, we wouldn't now be looking at a world that's spitting on our flag or making a bunch of noise about how tyrannical we are. We would see the backs of a bunch of heads as they all bowed to their overlords.

Instead, we invested billions of dollars into helping a tribe of illiterate bedouins develop oil fields which we then bought at land office prices. We sat on our hands and watched our ally in Iran overthrown by an extremist cult leader who approved the kidnapping of scores of innocent embassy workers. We stood by and watched murderers and savages kill Olympic athletes, crippled men, and airline passengers. We would have been perfectly justified in launching a full-scale war. We did nothing.

Finally, after multiple attempts to murder our citizens and soldiers -- some successful, some not -- we responded with force. And in short order, the cowards who had been screeching about our horrible injustices were either dead, bled, or fled. Then we moved into Iraq and did the same thing. You spit in the giant's face long enough, you have no room to complain when he kicks your ass.

"Imperialism?" Puhleeeze. You sniveling babies don't know the meaning of the word.

[JimRed]

Surprisingly, attitudes in Germany, France and Indonesia were least favourable.

What's surprising about that?

Germany- kicked their @$$ twice in the last century, recently caught 'em with their fingers in the cookie jar.

France- saved their @$$ twice in the last century, recently caught 'em with their fingers in the cookie jar.

Indonesia- Islamic hellhole.

[Just A Nobody]

A recent BBC poll that sought the opinions of 26,000 people in 25 countries indicates 49 per cent feel the US plays a mainly negative role in today's world.

Which means 51% - the majority - do NOT feel this way. I would have been more inclined to give this piece serious consideration had the author not deferred to some ridiculous poll. (spit)

Surprisingly, attitudes in Germany, France and Indonesia were least favourable.

SURPRISINGLY???? To whom?

[Paige]

Isn't this author American Bashing? Yet, another misleading title by an American Basher.

[adorno]

In the meantime it's worth reflecting on the good things the US has done in the world and put the last few years in perspective as an out-of-character aberration.

An out of character aberration?

The author tries to come across as wise and understanding of the relations between the middle-east and the west, especially the U.S., but most of what I got from this piece is that he's a dumb-ass and an idiot that fails to really understand what happened post 9/11 and pre-9/11 and post 9/11 Iraq. The reasons why we entered Iraq are well-documented and this writer just skipped around the whole Saddam vs middle-east and Saddam versus the U.S., and Saddam versus the UN, and Saddam versus the world issues.

Looking out for what's good for the region, the middle-east, is a great cause, but skipping on the real reasons for the Iraq war and the rest of the reasons for the middle-east always being in conflict is to be, well, less than honest.

[philman_36]

In plain English...Don't piss off the Golden Goose.
Summary of FY 2006 Budget and Program Highlights
For FY 2006, the President is requesting appropriations under the Foreign Operations Subcommittee of $8,254,340,000 in discretionary funds for USAID-administered programs, including those programs jointly administered with the State Department, and associated management costs. This excludes $1.97 billion the President has requested for the Global HIV/AIDS Initiative, coordinated by the State Department. Also requested is $885,000,000 in P.L. 480 Title II, which is appropriated to the Department of Agriculture but is managed by USAID. The total request, including P.L. 480, is $9,139,340,000. Levels do not include any potential funding managed by USAID from the Millennium Challenge Account.
The tables and descriptions that follow provide further details in support of the budget request. Data provided in the tables are in thousands of dollars and cover a four-year period.
Table I lists all the accounts managed by USAID. Where there are transfers of some of these funds to other agencies, these levels are noted. Levels for FY 2003, FY 2004 and FY 2005 reflect rescissions. The FY 2003, FY 2004, and FY 2005 supplementals are listed as separate line items under the accounts that received these funds.
Tables II through XIV cover the individual USAID-managed accounts.

This is ONE year.
I know nobody will bother looking to see the vast amounts that are illustrated for the last 4 years, but I feel that I've done my part.

[ErnBatavia]

Our countries are blessed - some might say cursed - with the world's most coveted resource: oil.

Wrongo - Food is the most coveted resource; and I'm betting they need more than a few bites of what America produces.

Checkmate.

[ErnBatavia]

see 10 - shorter than your example, but I'd say you and I are on the same page...

[philman_36]

From the link...
AGRICULTURE SUBCOMMITTEE
P.L. 480 Food for Peace Title II 2 1,440,575 1,184,967 1,173,041 885,000

[B.O. Plenty]

Do we really want to sever or water down our alliances with the world's superpower? And if we were to do something that foolish what might be the economic, political and strategic consequences?

Khalaf at least got that part right. Nobody, and I mean no-bod-eee is going to like it if America is destroyed or forced to back down from the war on terror. The world then is at the mercy of France and Russia, and worse, islam. We all know that Putin and Cheric are fine upstanding gentlemen who have not a corrupt bone in their bodies....eh...and the muslims have bald facedly promised to kill us all.

When the lights go out in America, the lights go out all over the world. The thugs take over....not the brightest among us, but the biggest and meanest.

[Pharmboy]

I would actually prefer our own Democrats to stop America-bashing first.

[RobbyS]

By all means, let is forget the casus bellum. I mean the cause of the war that started in 1991 and which is only now being brought to a conclusion.

[SJackson]

Wrongo - Food is the most coveted resource; and I'm betting they need more than a few bites of what America produces.

Very true, though they're probably more likely to let their citizens starve than we are to tolerate oil supply disruptions. Of course if they feel they're cursed with oil, they could give it away.

[DustyMoment]

To be fair the US government deserves much of the anger directed towards it for its ill-thought out Mideast policy.

Ok, if he's going to undermine his own essay's premise early into the discussion, why finish the article? He's just admitted that the America-bashers have a valid point.

[DustyMoment]

I would actually prefer our own Democrats to stop America-bashing first.

Good point . . . . and one that too many of us missed while refuting the author.

[CyberAnt]

Fox is running a new promo:

"America has problems; The problem is not America"

It's great to see that!

[DieHard the Hunter]

America bashing *has* gone far enough. This particular article crosses the line.

God BLESS America! And God d*mn anyone who says otherwise.