28-04-2003 01:40									#31
	Put an end to popups!

quote: Originally posted by Uncle Sparky So, you really think if Jerry Fallwell and his ilk were to reopen hospitals etc. they wouldn't have any long term goals of further fundimentalizing the US ?

At the heart of it, Jerry Falwell and the fundamentalist Islamic Shiites in Iraq are one and the same: power hungry men who don't particularly care for others, even more so if those others aren't fellow Christians and Muslims who follow their particular brand of religion.

The difference lies in the fact that the real chance of America going "fundie" isn't very good. If it's one thing about America that heartens me, it's the silent moderate majority who do a fairly good job of keeping us from going too far in either political direction. Good ideas can come from the *entire* political spectrum, but the challenge lies in carefully combining them into a system of governance that doesn't necessarily send a nation listing too much to one side or another.

Iraq will face such challenges as well, since *every* free nation deals with such issues from time to time.

quote: I can actually somewhat agree with you. I have volunteered in the past and currently donate to the MCC (Mennonite Central Committee) who provide aid no strings attached. My concern is whether the US government, with a fundamentalist at its head, is covertly backing them, like they didn't back Saddam in the '80s.

I take things a day at a time. If such shortsightedness is indeed being practiced, it will be exposed to the brilliant light of day in due time, and all those involved will be properly exposed.

Gatekeeper

	28-04-2003 01:51									#32
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quote: After days of talking to Shiites in Karbala and Najaf, it is clear to this reporter that there is virtually no undercurrent of anti-Americanism in the heartland of Iraqi Shi'ism. Even some clerics who have just returned from exile in Iran were keen to advertise their goodwill toward the United States. All that, however, could quickly change.

quote: The United States and its allies impressed the Iraqis by the efficiency of their military machine. (Although little noticed by the media, few Iraqis outside Baghdad, and to a lesser extent Basra, directly experienced the war.) Yet some Iraqis wonder whether that efficient military machine might lack a political brain. The political vacuum created by the collapse of the Ba'athist regime widens by the day, and there are no signs that the United States (or anybody else for that matter) might have a clue as to how to fill it.

quote: There is a widely held impression that rival factions in Washington are prepared to forge alliances even with the devil, which in this case could mean the mullahs of Tehran, to sabotage each other's plans. President Bush needs to get a grip on this situation before it runs out of control. He must decide who is in charge of the political aspect of the Iraqi project. And, indeed, what that project consists of.

Yeah, clear cut aticle Chris62..... Did you really read it, you know, the whole thing, besides those bits you liked?

Hisotry is clear: policy is not made by ther masses but by a few, who one way or another drive the masses. It is activist and extremists who drive the debate and everyone else is forced to follow, one way or another, down the paths set out FOR them, not BY them.

	28-04-2003 01:55									#33
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The "bits" I linked?

I linked the entire article.

I'm surprised you would attempt such a childish drive-by, I thought you were above that.

My mistake, and noted for future reference.

	28-04-2003 02:07									#34
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You know, that is a pretty old strategy, the old :"I wouldn't expect it from you..bit".

quote: You people crack me up. Why not try listening to an Islamic writer who actually talked to people in Iraq, rather than second hand news from doomsayers? He seems to paint a different picture, but most of you aern't into anything trueful, so what does it matter? BTW, what's the civillan count of the US carpet bombing now?

These were all you comments attached to the article: now maybe it is just me, but you take it as "proof" that everything in Iraq is going just fine, the people love us. Well, the bits I quoted show that even this wirter, whjo agrees with you that most Iraqis at this point like the US, still thinks the admin. is not getting its act together as far as bringing stability and order. Opinions of the occupier can change very quickly, depending on how the occupier acts: just look at Israeli's experience in Southern Lebanon.

	28-04-2003 02:16									#35
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I take it as proof that people over-react to what they see on TV.

And the writer clearly states that FOR NOW, things are good, not as the doomsayers claim, and I never said any different.

As for old strategy, I see where your coming from now.