[Captain Kirk]

So speaks a social engineer of the right! The hubris of central planning knows neither right nor left apparently.

[Savage Beast]

Okay, you've got me figured out. I'm neither of the right nor the left. As for hubris--well, I guess so. We're all capable of it.

But you've got to admit: radical Islamic fundamentalists have a lot in common with the Nazi and the Japanese imperialists.

Like most Americans, I was never anti-Islamic until Sept. 11--not quite three months ago. I've travelled in Islamic countries. Had Muslim friends.

But where were all the moderate Muslims when the Taliban was acting like Nazis? Why was it left to the Americans to rid Afghanistan of this scourge? And why is it illegal in Islamic theocracies for citizens to convert from Islam to another religion? There are many such questions that have arisen since Sept. 11. The response of moderate Muslims has been tepid and unconvincing.

What do you think?

[Savage Beast]

The American social engineering and central planning in post-war Japan and Germany may have been hubristic, but it worked, and it was the best thing that could have happened for Japan, Germany, or the rest of the world.