Brian wrote:
> We didn't create either Afghanistan nor the middle east mess,
> although we've made some bad moves in the region.
Hmmmm... Well this post from Daniel:
http://forum.javien.com/future/XMLmessage.php?id=id::ITNoeUE4-HQgP-Uwom-CSdx-VkBNCUFqXTEx
clearly points out that we have been stirring the stew.
Now what I don't know is the degree to which the CIA and/or
military was doing most of the stirring with the full knowledge
and support of the various administrations in power or whether
from 1945-1995 they were just executing "cold war policy" the
best way they knew how (and now we are still suffering the
fallout).
The part I find so humourous about the piece is the degree that
America seemed to be acting against French or British interests
and the degree to which we are "good buddies" today. I'm unsure
of the time when America went from becoming an oil producer to
an oil importer, but I cannot believe the "oil" addiction would
be the driving factor up until the mid-1970's when the oil embargoes
showed how vulnerable we are.
I'll point out for Amara that the *reason* that the soil of
Europe is drenched in blood is that Europe had a multi-hundred
year history of lesser royalty, monarchs and emperors using military
force to *conquer* regions with differing allegiances -- it goes back
all the way through the Ottoman empire to the Crusades and perhaps
even the Roman empire to the Greek city-states.
I think the lessons of history are plain -- ignore the desires
of megalomaniacs at your own peril.
Here is the question for Amara, Samantha or others who think
the U.S. current approach is ill-conceived -- If the U.S.
immediately pulled out of Saudi Arabia, allowing Bin Laden
to initiate a full revolt of the poor, unmarried young male
population so as to depose the royal family and install himself
as a leader of a hard line Islamic state -- *Do* you think he
would stop there?!? Once he had the Saudi oil fields is there
any reason he should not use that card to keep Europe and the
U.S. out of the Mid-East while he proceeds to fund and supply
bodies to overthrow the government of Egypt (3x the population
of Saudi Arabia), continue on to retake Israel from the infidel
Jews (returning it to an Arabic state) and launching a campaign
to wrest Kashmir from India?
Now, do you really think that Israel and India (both nuclear
powers) are going to sit around and allow that to occur?
Robert
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