My Country Right or Wrong

a friend wrote:

I remember 9/11 vividly as do most. My emotional side was aghast at the waste, and furious at the carnage.

The scientific side of my looked at it from a purely tactical point of view: This attack was not the work of a 'slobbering in the corner' madman. This was a work of genius.

Bernie is not saying that we deserved 9/11. He is asking us to look at our foriegn policy and ask why they did it. Is it remotely possible that they may have had a reason? Or are all "those god dammed towelheads" just insane murderers who kill for the amusment value?

Solve this complex problem and all these arguments and this war will dissapear.

and i replied:

i firmly believe we brought this who 'war' upon ourselves...

i firmly believe there were actions that could have been done to avoid this mess...

no political party is at fault, Clinton did his share of inactions, GHB did enough actions, although more justified than GWB's, to fuel the problems, but the biased approach to Israel, and the whole Middle East view that the USA has has fueled what has started long long long ago.

Lybia? Sound familiar? It goes back to the Cold War and goes back beyond...USSR and USA in a school yard brawl taking turns picking 'teams' and feeding hate and propaganda... USSR didn't get the same backlash when they 'dropped' countrys from the team as they were more globally justified in doing so... we dropped players for image reasons...

Its a very very complex issue, that needs a wealth of history to comprehend and a mind far more supple and perceptive than most human's possess to grapple with a solution... Minds jaded or tainted with corporate greed or policy won't be able to solve the problem. This isn't a 'marketplace' where you can just run people out of buisness... disenfranchising a whole religious group won't lose you customers, it'll lose you lives...

is there a good answer? no... is war the wrong answer? yes...

I'm still torn by what 'our' soldiers are doing, on one hand they are helping to turn a country around, on the other, we've just created another Iran... a broken corrupt secular dictator was more stable and in essence more friendly to the US than what we have now...

I do believe violence is the resort of the weak and ignorant, a resort fueled by religious fervor... esp from the Christian point of view.

I do believe that peace is the answer, and that there is a way to solve every problem in a peaceful way. But that solution is very complex and takes a long time and makes for TERRIBLE photo ops...not good for CNN or Fox.

I'm frustrated as a labor sided fiscal conservative in a country run by fiscal radicals and management sided individuals...

I like to avoid talking politics... I find it inconceivable that you can oppose abortion but be in favor of the death penalty, i find it irreconcilable that you can oppose abortion but be in favor of war and agressive violent measures to solve conflicts...

but as to paying tribute to our countries men and women who are being killed every day... that is something that should never enter into the political realm.... but the CIC should be required to be present for every funeral at Arlington or if he isn't avial, then the VP, and down the line of succesion to the leadership of the country. The people making these choices should be emotionally involved in the end result and the affect on the country and our young men and women who have volunteered their live to serve the needs and whims of those in office.