[Cincinatus]

Three amigos?? What -- no Hugo Chavez???

[snopercod]

Barbara Boxer is "a greedy republican from a midwest state"???

Democratic U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer Practices 'baked Bean Diplomacy' With Castro

[fporretto]

Castro might have been a model for Saddam Hussein in one important respect. For forty years, Castro has used the Cuban people as hostages, intensifying his oppressions and depredations against them in answer to any pressure put upon him by the United States, and hoping that our concern for his victims would disarm us. And in 2003, we've seen Saddam Hussein try to weaken our will to depose him by threatening us with a bloodbath... in Iraqi blood.

All tyrants are essentially the same, no matter what label they sport.

Freedom, Wealth, and Peace,
Francis W. Porretto
Visit The Palace Of Reason:
http://palaceofreason.com

[ImpBill]

I wonder if the "New World Order" will finally evolve into the reality that "you are either with US or against US"?

One can only hope.

[mgist]

What they don't realize is that it is no coincidence that Latin America is anti-American. The media, social elites, universities, schools, political organizations, have been propagating this anti-Americanism for years. If any of you lived there and heard what they hear every day, you would hate Americans too. What I don't understand is why the U.S. has never engaged in any counter propaganda efforts.

[Tailgunner Joe]

bump

[marron]

Until recently, we have been rather understanding of those countries who support us privately while slapping us in public. It was all part of the game, and who cares as long as at the end of the day, they do the right thing.

But things have deteriorated since then, and this double game has itself become part of the problem. Since these countries have only supported us privately, they have never had to defend their actions to their own people, and so there has been no philosophical counter-current to oppose the default anti-americanism that is ever present. And, so, it finally gets to the point that the governments do not dare to support us even in private, so great is the hostility among the people.

We don't need those kinds of friends anymore. I refer specifically to countries like Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, and Jordan, and our latin american brothers as well. We need friends who are prepared to help us in the full light of day, and to explain their decision to their own people, to engage openly in the debate that is necessary to build a national consensus, so that our support in a given country is more than just skin deep, and our support goes beyond a few government functionaries in-the-know.

Countries that are not our friends when the bullets are flying should not expect to be treated as friends when it is dinner time, when contracts are being dispursed, and when they are themselves under attack. They must understand that we are deadly serious, and they will have to earn their way out of the doghouse. Try sending some commandos to Afghanistan, a few hundred, not just a few clerks, we want to see who is willing to help us publicly, and at some risk to themselves.

[madfly]

ping