Originally posted by: Queasy
Originally posted by: konichiwa
Originally posted by: Queasy
Originally posted by: konichiwa
Originally posted by: FoBoT
ok, on behalf of america, the USA is just as evil as everybody else
we had slavery until 1860's
we wiped out american indians in huge numbers and stole their land
we dropped two nuclear weapons on japan and killed tens of thousands of civilians
we are really evil too
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i still think we need to defend our country from foreign aggressors
Agreed, but when we champion ourselves as the sole protector of democracy and justice throughout the world, people should know that that is a load of crap; looking at our past record just about anyone in the world can see that we have not always (or even often) fulfilled the image we set for ourselves as righteous protectors of disenfranchised and oppressed peoples of the world; in fact, we have often been the reason for that disenfranchisement and oppression.
So are you saying that the United States should enter into some period of self-flaggelation until it is deemed by any person that might have been disenfranchised, oppressed, or offended that we have punished ourselves enough?
No, what I am saying is that the US running around the world and proclaiming that it is freeing the people of Iraq, Iraq is a obstacle to worldwide democracy, the US is freeing the middle east to engage in democracy, and frankly that just doesn't coincide with our history. It's no surprise that ALL MODERN COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD disagree and are skeptical of this war, because they know just how bad we (agreed, as well as most other nations) have acted towards certain peoples of the world over the years.
<cough>There is currently a coalition of 30+ countries supporting the United States so please do not say "ALL MODERN COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD". You are being disingenious when you do so.
The US is going out of its way to avoid civilian casualties and to provide timely aid to the people of Iraq. US forces are still in Afghanistan along with the UN to help the newly forming gov't and the people. Yes, America has made mistakes in the past. Yes, some mistakes may be made in the future. But at least we are out there trying to help.
"coalition of the willing"
I believe the number of countries stands somewhere in the forties currently, with less than ten (IIRC, and unless it's changed) actually offering troops or "direct" military support (Britain, Australia, Poland are the only countries actually offering fighting tropps. Some scattered others are offering "experts" and "noncombatants" as well as those who are in it for the "moral support"). Not to mention some of the stunningly powerful countries we say are with us...
such as...
Afghanistan, Albania, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom and Uzbekistan.
Azerbaijan? El Salvador? Eritrea? Compared with a coalition of 20+ countries who actually gave us troops as well as "moral support" in Gulf war I