I can't speak for other about this issue but it is important; America has many enemies. Why is that?
What is it about Americans that could provoke such hatred? Sweden was not bombed, Canada was not bombed, Portugal was not bombed...if this crazy terrorism will ever stop, America needs to answer this question honestly anout itself.
A personal note though, I used to be very sympathetic for the USA in the past but even though I consider myself a non-political person I do understand why people around the world are not surprised this happened, or are even upset.
For 73 days the United States bombed Yugoslavia. Partisans from this country during WWII rescued US pilots who fell behing NAzi lines, Yugoslavia was an ally. Fast forward 50 yesrs and Yugoslavs men women and children are being killed by US weapons dropped from 20 000 feet in an illegal war. What was the crime of those children and women? The Yugoslav gov't was trying to destroy the KLA terrorists in Kosovo in a very brutal little conflict. The KLA are muslim extremist terrorists - even the CIA said so. But regardless of the irony of America dropping bombs on Yugoslavia for killing terrorists and there supporters; the fact is American people shed no tears for the suffering that befell the Serbs. Most Americans did not even question it - and that was wrong. America destroyed a historical ally in Yugoslavia, especially in it's fight against muslim extremists.
It is precisely for this kind of thoughtless military action that so many people have problems with America - be it from the Cuban perspective, the Vitetnamese perspective, the Palestinian perspective, the Sandanista perspective, etc. America must change the way it deals with "small" countries and "small" people or the threat of terrorism will never end. You cannot build walls high enough to stop them all, but you can change US foreign policy to be more receptive, and most importantly stop the high handed self-rigthous importance many Americans feel they deserve. We are all human beings, and the action of those arabs and what motivated them on the plane must be analyzed and talked about openly or it will reoccur.
In the 50s the CIA sponsored a coup in Iran that succeeded in placing the Shah in power, effectively making him a puppet of big US oil and the CIA. The Shah however was a very very brutal fellow whose actions provided the basis of muslim fundamentalis to be revived and it swept the Ayatollah to power 20 years later. Remember the Ayatollah?
In the Iran-Iraq War the US supplied Hussein with a ton of military support and trained his soldiers with the best CIA toys there were. In the Russian invasion of Afghanistan in 1979/80 the US trained Mujahadeen guerrillas (including Osama Bid Ladin) to fight in very dirty ways against the Russians.
In many ways US created the monster that came home last Tuesday, and I find it startling that when people are talking on TV today they ask the same questions: Why us? How could did this happen? Well it happened partly because the US supplied these crazies at one time when it suited US interest (aka US big business) and now they turned our training onto us. The illegal bombing of countries like Yugoslavia does not help either - that just makes a bunch of non-muslims less sympathetic to US tragedies.
This is the kind of discussion that needs to occur to fix this so it never ever happens again, but I am afraid that a lot poeple are just not ready to hear it More people just want to retaliate with force and weapons. Unfortunately this strategy has failed in Israel's approach to their problesm, it only has made it more terrible.
Banning people, stop discussion based on a difference of opinion only fuel the animosity. Why can't we talk about this here as a start?
best wished to all those hurt in the tragedy in the US.
What is it about Americans that could provoke such hatred? Sweden was not bombed, Canada was not bombed, Portugal was not bombed...if this crazy terrorism will ever stop, America needs to answer this question honestly anout itself.
A personal note though, I used to be very sympathetic for the USA in the past but even though I consider myself a non-political person I do understand why people around the world are not surprised this happened, or are even upset.
For 73 days the United States bombed Yugoslavia. Partisans from this country during WWII rescued US pilots who fell behing NAzi lines, Yugoslavia was an ally. Fast forward 50 yesrs and Yugoslavs men women and children are being killed by US weapons dropped from 20 000 feet in an illegal war. What was the crime of those children and women? The Yugoslav gov't was trying to destroy the KLA terrorists in Kosovo in a very brutal little conflict. The KLA are muslim extremist terrorists - even the CIA said so. But regardless of the irony of America dropping bombs on Yugoslavia for killing terrorists and there supporters; the fact is American people shed no tears for the suffering that befell the Serbs. Most Americans did not even question it - and that was wrong. America destroyed a historical ally in Yugoslavia, especially in it's fight against muslim extremists.
It is precisely for this kind of thoughtless military action that so many people have problems with America - be it from the Cuban perspective, the Vitetnamese perspective, the Palestinian perspective, the Sandanista perspective, etc. America must change the way it deals with "small" countries and "small" people or the threat of terrorism will never end. You cannot build walls high enough to stop them all, but you can change US foreign policy to be more receptive, and most importantly stop the high handed self-rigthous importance many Americans feel they deserve. We are all human beings, and the action of those arabs and what motivated them on the plane must be analyzed and talked about openly or it will reoccur.
In the 50s the CIA sponsored a coup in Iran that succeeded in placing the Shah in power, effectively making him a puppet of big US oil and the CIA. The Shah however was a very very brutal fellow whose actions provided the basis of muslim fundamentalis to be revived and it swept the Ayatollah to power 20 years later. Remember the Ayatollah?
In the Iran-Iraq War the US supplied Hussein with a ton of military support and trained his soldiers with the best CIA toys there were. In the Russian invasion of Afghanistan in 1979/80 the US trained Mujahadeen guerrillas (including Osama Bid Ladin) to fight in very dirty ways against the Russians.
In many ways US created the monster that came home last Tuesday, and I find it startling that when people are talking on TV today they ask the same questions: Why us? How could did this happen? Well it happened partly because the US supplied these crazies at one time when it suited US interest (aka US big business) and now they turned our training onto us. The illegal bombing of countries like Yugoslavia does not help either - that just makes a bunch of non-muslims less sympathetic to US tragedies.
This is the kind of discussion that needs to occur to fix this so it never ever happens again, but I am afraid that a lot poeple are just not ready to hear it More people just want to retaliate with force and weapons. Unfortunately this strategy has failed in Israel's approach to their problesm, it only has made it more terrible.
Banning people, stop discussion based on a difference of opinion only fuel the animosity. Why can't we talk about this here as a start?
best wished to all those hurt in the tragedy in the US.
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