From: Spudboy100@aol.com
Date: Thu Jan 23 2003 - 11:06:13 MST
Christian "naddy" Weisgerber
<<Which has been highly problematic from the very beginning. One
group's terrorists are somebody else's freedom fighters. See the
pained faces in the Western countries when the Russians immediately
hopped on the train, pointing to their own fight against terrorism
in the shape of the war in Chechnya.>>
Putin and company demand a war against Muslim Chechnya while courting Saddam
and pursuing a policy that does anything it can, to romance the Islamic
World. Russia can't have it both ways. The decision thus becomes digital;
yes-no, off-on, war-peace. France is very similar to this, as is much of
western Europe. For example, the French populace howls against North African
and Muslim immigrants; suffers occasionally from Islamist terror actions, yet
its foreign policy is Arabist, to the extreme. A policy, incidentally,
started by De Gaulle, at the suggestion of his chief foreign minister (pursue
Iraq as you would a women!), who was an ardent supporter of hitler and a
member of the Vichey government.
<<Indeed. It would be so much nicer if the US government, as well
as the American nationalists loudmouthing on this list, would stand
up and declare:
1. We pursue our own interests.
2. We are the fucking leading military and economic power on this
planet, we do as we please because we can.>>
I have no problem with this statement, although there are other factors, such
as"
3. Your people weren't attacked on 9-11, and ours were. This is a good reason
(arrogantly speaking) to re-draw the maps of the Islamic world. I mean its
not set in stone and borders and nations were put together by post WW1
Britain and France.
<<Not to mention that I find Mr. Bush's persistent references to
"God" in his rhetorics eerily similar to those of Mr. Bin Laden.
This is a point where American sensibilities diverge sharply from
European ones.) >>
Well, Osama, and his fellow Islamists' version of Gawd* demand sacrifces-of
non-Islamists. For example, because of such views, one cannot have a beauty
contest in Nigeria (how tragic!) because of enraging Islamist sensibilities
(200 dead Christians from the riots).
<<Well, it's far from clear that leaving Hussein in power will be
less deleterious. The whole area is so fucked up, we just don't
know.>>
True, but Europe was such a fucked-up place, not so long ago. You couldn't
keep Germany from France's throat, and also Poland. Curiously, when the time
for repressing tyrants came in the Balkans wars of 1991, Western Europe was
reluctant, to the extreme, in involving themselves in halting such a
conflict. Clinton was also a believer in euro-style diplomacy, and this cost
250,000 lives, did it not? It wasn't until President Billy started dropping
weaponry on Milosevic's army that things cooled-down. (Balkans war 2)
Germans are forever telling Americans to "go clean your own front stoop!", I
believe this phrase is(?). Well, Yugo was a chance for Europe to clean their
own from stoop, and basically, it was standing around with thumbs planted up
the butt. Proving that again, diplomacy without power, is sizzle without the
steak, or tofu, as such.
<<Now let me suck up in part to the kill-em-all-crowd here and annoy
their opponents by pointing out that I'm neutral on the issue of a
US war (with or without British and French support) against Iraq.
Apart from the oil price, I'm not personally impacted. It will be
just another video clip war, pretty pictures on TV of people blowing
each other to smithereens. It's not me dying out there, nor anybody
I'm close to. And I sure as hell can't do anything about it either way.--
Christian "naddy" Weisgerber naddy@mips.inka.de
Yes indeed, human self-centeredness is typical. But also, I see no need for
Europe to become involved in this war either. Nor are the Europeans to be
heeded on what they say, because, if one is not in the card game, one
doesn't get the deal ;-)
I love the smell of burning arrogance in the morning !
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