Here is my opinion which is open to discussion, but lets keep it civilised, there is no need for abuse and childish behaviour…
America has had an interest in the Middle East for quite a while, and it all started for the oil…
America represents a tiny percentage of the population and uses 1/3 of the world’s resources, they need oil to preserve there, pardon my language, but “swollen d i c k “ over indulgent lifestyle. So who has the biggest resource? The Middle East…
The main key of why Hardcore Islamics hate America is because as a result of trying to get their hands on Middle East resources, they are meddling in a very sacred and very strict religion of Islam, which is their entire way of life. You cannot tell these people to live differently. These guys live/breathe and dedicate their whole lives to this religion. And they are willing to Die in order to preserve it...
I would be pissed if some superpower came to our country and interfered with our way of life and religion as well as trying to get their hands on our resources. And I’m not even that religious... So imagine if my life was dedicated to a Religion.
The fact is, is that the USA should just stop meddling with Islam religion and their way of life... It might not be the right way of life in our eyes, and they surely don’t treat women how they should, but who are we to tell them to live any other way?
I’m sure that they are disgusted when they see Britney Spears etc act like a s-l-u- t on TV and mis-representing what a beautiful creature a woman actually is. And seeing all these young girls dress so very in-appropriately as little under age sex symbols because of our culture, I myself cant help but feel that women are being mistreated here in Modern World. There is so much pressure on females this day to be beautiful and they will butcher themselves (plastic surgery) in order to conform to our society.
Please don’t get me wrong, the minorities of Islamic people who treat their women so poorly are scum in my eyes. But when I see the pop “music” filmclips on TV and all the females feel they need to be reduced to a sex symbol in order to sell, I really feel women are not being treated right in our own backyards.
My point is, is that we see bad in their way of life, and they see bad in ours. But the fact is, is that we cannot tell them to live any other way and use this as a guise for getting our hands on their resources.
After all, they weren’t the ones who started it. If you look back far enough, America was the first to meddle with their way of life…
Originally posted by ShonkytonkI agree with a lot of what you say, but please don't be exclusive when you accuse America with her greed for oil. Remember, it was the Saudis who invited America, and the west, to develop her oil refinery capabilities before and after WW2. There are many British, French, and other western powers with their fingers in the "oil pie". I agree that America is a wasteful society and it makes me pissed to see Hummers, Lincoln Navigators, and other mega-SUVs cruising the interstates and highways of my country while our soldiers are dying in Iraq, and the rest of America, especially the politicians, pays lip service in their support in defeating terrorism. No one in America is sacrificing except the soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen, and coast guardsmen and their families. The rest of American society is pissed that they have to arrive at the airport 2 hours early or that they have to pay $2.75 for a gallon of gas to drive their SUV, all the while sitting on their asses watching "Desperate Housewives". I agree that we have to pull out of the middle east and let them sort out their own demons, but we can't just 'cut and run' right now. The jeanie has been let of the bottle and we have to put her back inside. America and the west, including Australia, have to develop alternative sources of energy so we are not held hostage to the Arab oil demons. If the radical Islamists control the oil before we are able to utilize an alternate source of energy, they will bring the west to its knees economically, which is what they want to do. I agree that we cannot offer these people democracy if they do not want it, but we also cannot deny it to the ones who do, such as the Afghans who were living under brutal conditions with the taliban, and who seem to appreciate the offer of democracy, at least from the media perspective. When you use Brittney Spears as an example of American decadence, it doesn't even compare to the liberal sexual mores of Europe, where nudity is expressed openly in a lot of places; in fact, America is puritanical compared to Europe. While we're talking sex, guess who has the biggest appetite for western women? The Saudi oil demons....Mohammad Atta, the leader of the 9-11 creeps had visited a strip club just days before colliding into the WTC, so who are the hippocrites here? You make a lot of good points in your post, but we can't exclude the rest of western society when we start handing out the blame tickets. In my opinion, radical Islam and secular society cannot coexist, therefore we will either succumb to the radical Islamists through our inept policies in dealing with them, or the moderate Islamists will rise up and help the west defeat the radicals, or there will be a huge nuclear explosion in which no one wins....
Here is my opinion which is open to discussion, but lets keep it civilised, there is no need for abuse and childish behaviour…
America has had an interest in the Middle East for quite a while, and it all started for the oil…
Amer ...[text shortened]... ar enough, America was the first to meddle with their way of life…
Yeah very good points, I actually believe that the Saudis have gotten away pretty lightly considering they are generating alot of the problems, and I do feel the America are not exclusively to blame. I guess I use "USA" as the combined term for my understanding of the Superpowers (Britain/France) meddling in the Mid East, because they portray themselves as the “leaders” of the “free world”. Though I still feel they are the main perpetrators.
A very valid point about alternative fuel sources, and I do agree that we (Aus included) need to help protect the Oil from the radicals, but I guess I still feel quite jaded about people being mislead into the current Iraq war. And I do also consider that America/Britain/France does have quite greedy and ulterior motives with their involvement in the Middle East.
Re the Britney thing, I was using her as a "Muse' for what popular culture offers up as a "popular singer" and role model. I do agree with you that Europe does have alot of nudity and are liberal in their sexual stance. But I’m speaking from experience when I say that Europeans worship and adore the female figure in all forms and treat it with respect, whereas currently alot of the negative images I see of women are projected from the USA.
(here is the initial post to the 7/16/2005 "no WMDs?" thread ...)
the next time someone tells you the Coalition was not justified in invading Iraq, point them to this link, a 108-page rebuttal:
Iraq: Setting the Record Straight
April 2005
http://www.newamericancentury.org/iraq-042005.pdf