“We cannot go around pretending that America cannot be blamed and then argue at the same time that we are courting future attack. Either we can or we can’t. It can’t be both.”
Your default position is:
- We were attacked by Muslims, therefore, due to our foreign relationship and funding, we are to blame.
You’re wrong. In case you failed World History, nations have been waging wars and conquering one another for centuries. Sooner or later, America would have to protect her own shores from foreign invaders.
Furthermore, Christians, Catholics, Atheists, Muslims, etc. have been fighting for turf for quite a long time.
“People around here are so sensitive about “blaming America” insisting that past American foreign policy, even that of LBJ, Carter and Clinton, is infallible. They did nothing wrong. And yet I have to read day in and day out that Obama is going to get us all killed. Which is it? Can our national policy, and thereby America, influence possible attacks, or can’t it? It can’t be both, and knowing which administration is which is hardly relevant.”
Sensitive my eye. We simply dismiss default positions such as yours, which is to say, that we brought the attacks on ourselves due to our governments negligence and foreign policy.
“infallible”? That’s totally false. I have yet to hear any American say that our government is infallible. This is you projecting due to your default position.
Those who disagree with you on these issues know that whether it was 9/11 or another point and time, we would have to engage in war on our own turf. History reveals these realities time and again.
Using cothrige logic, Daniel Pearl deserved to have his head chopped off.
In reality, Daniel Pearl was beheaded because he was not a Muslim; he was the enemy. It wasn’t because he deserved it due to his governments foreign policy, or because he was funding Islams enemies. (in case you’re missing my point by now, this is an illustration)
America is an enemy of Islam. If you are suggesting that we should cut ties with our allies, e.g. Israel, because this may provoke Islam, I say that it doesn’t matter who we are allied with. You seem to think that if we just minded our own business, Islam would leave us alone. If this is true, you are so naive and ignorant of Islams objective, and the fact that world history is quite clear on the subject of Muslims, land, and war.
We were attacked by Muslims, therefore, due to our foreign relationship and funding, we are to blame.
Of course, because we are. We are not the only people to blame, but we do carry blame. If the people we elect enact policies which are damaging to America's interests and defence then America is responsible for that. This is a fact.
You’re wrong. In case you failed World History, nations have been waging wars and conquering one another for centuries. Sooner or later, America would have to protect her own shores from foreign invaders.
My knowledge of history is slightly better than that. What you describe here has nothing to do with reality. Following this "logic" when Obama's decisions lead to some catastrophe we can just say that it was bound to happen sooner or later. This is a position of total irresponsibility.
“infallible”? That’s totally false. I have yet to hear any American say that our government is infallible. This is you projecting due to your default position.
Would you prefer inerrant? If our foreign policy can never contribute or bear any responsibility for any negative events or actions which we may suffer then it must be one of them. It certainly cannot be imperfect as it can never be wrong. If it could be wrong then it could be at fault.
Using cothrige logic, Daniel Pearl deserved to have his head chopped off.
Don't be absurd. Sharing responsibility is not the same as "deserved." A woman can go to a convenience store on the bad side of town at two in the morning in her BMW and her judgement is definitely faulty, but if she is attacked she hardly deserves it. That is beyond ridiculous. It also happens that I never said anything about victims of attacks, but only America. America is a nation and corporately we are responsible for our government and its policies. We the People and all that. However, each individual's responsibility is another matter and depends entirely on who they are and what they have done.
If you are suggesting that we should cut ties with our allies, e.g. Israel, because this may provoke Islam, I say that it doesn’t matter who we are allied with.
Ah, more made up stuff I see. Funded becomes provoked, brought on becomes deserved, and now all of these magically become "cut ties with ... Israel." Nice try, but I have never said a thing about Israel.
You seem to think that if we just minded our own business, Islam would leave us alone.
No, you must think it because only you said it. I certainly didn't.
Let us be clear. I say that America is responsible for 9/11 insofar as our national policies either contributed to it or allowed it. Read that carefully. I did not say that America was as or more responsible than any terrorist, but only that America is responsible. That is the conservative position. Governments don't get orders direct from God, and they make mistakes. Obama makes them all the time. One of them may directly lead to an attack, or make one possible, and if that happens then America will be at fault for that too. We shouldn't have elected him. I am realistic enough to understand that.