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<strong>Written By:</strong> sthompson
<strong>Date:</strong> 2004-07-09 15:19:10
<a href="/article/151910802-on-not-being-american">Article Link</a>

So it's wrenching being back in Canada confronting the prospect of Stephen Harper as our next prime minister. This is a man who so longed to join George W. Bush's coalition of the willing that he called former defence minister John McCallum an ?idiot? in the House of Commons, declaring we should be in Iraq with the United States, ?doing everything necessary to win.? This is a man who was so eager to ?support the war effort? that he went on Fox and claimed that ?the silent majority of Canadians is strongly supportive? of the invasion, defying the findings of every credible opinion poll. <p> If the Conservatives are given the chance to turn Canada into more of a card-carrying combatant in Bush's disastrous war on terrorism than we are already, the little bit of grace I encountered in Iraq will quickly disappear. When I go back, showing my passport to the ad hoc inspectors could well have a very different effect. <p> Full story: <a href="http://www.rabble.ca/columnists_full.shtml?x=32861">On not being American</a>

   

I'm sure most Americans are glad that Naomi isn't American. Prostrating ourselves for middle east tyrants and terrorists is a strategy, but a poor one. The middle east has lots of money, they have land, they could even develop their economies if they wanted to, but they're held back by religion, dictators and now terrorists. Screaming at the Americans for actually doing something about this state of affairs earns 'journalists' many kudos, that's for sure, but they offer no alternative. People in the middle east are suffering under there own unelected governments and radical religious authorities - that's where there anger is initially generated. Of course they don't like foreigners having to come in and sort out their affairs, and it's likely none would have, but because they allowed attacks to be launched on the West, something has to be done before they manage to do too much damage.

   

Given this article, it seems to be off topic as your points are not an applicable description of the most secular and affluent society in the middle east (well.. I mean before the wars and the sanctions...). Iraq neither hade nothing to do with any "terrorist" acts nor did they request the US to "liberate" (bomb) them. Could you please be a little more specific.

   

Americans and their high moral ground about the middle east is hypocrisy of the worst kind. But Americans like to be fed chewed up information, bits and pieces of propaganda thrown at them from their masters as they are too lazy to reason things through for themselves. <p>You do not bring democracy by bombing away at a country, killing their citizens by the tens of thousands and then tell them it is for their own good.</p> <p>The majority of Americans know very little about the middle east, its history and people. Hell, they know very little about anything or anyone outside their own borders but like to play at pretending they are the world's darling child and that all are there to cater to their greed and arrogance. </p> <p>America would do well to mind their own business and fix their problems at home instead Their <i> freedoms</i> are quickly being eroded by their fascist masters and dissent is no longer tolerated. Their press and media have been bought to the highest bidder and for the past decades, the world has been watching the dumbing down of Americans. We have nothing to learn from these people anymore. The empire is on a downward spiral and it won't be pretty when it crashes.</p> <p>Oh well, maybe when all their so-called freedoms are finally eroded to just a memory of a past life, maybe there will be no reason to hate them anymore, eh ? </p> <p> "They hate us for our freedom" will change into "They pity us for our stupidity"<p> This should please resident Bush to no end, non ?

   

>Screaming at the Americans for actually doing something about this state of affairs... <p>When are you going to learn that the US and UK are responsible for the bulk of that mess in the first place? The only argument I ever found in favour of this USUK invasion of Iraq was they should clean up their own dogpiles... but that's not what they went to do anyway and its still no reason for us to be in on it.

   

They are being held back by lack of water. Everything else is subsidiary. If you check on Israel's manouvering, you will notice that they are quite willing to forfeit land with water scarcities, but will fight to the death for the Golan Heights and the West Bank. To devlope western-style industrial economies, much water is needed. http://www.zmag.org/content/Mideast/McCallin_blooms.cfm http://cbc.ca/stories/2002/06/16/israel_fence020616 http://www.iasps.org.il/strategic/water.htm http://gurukul.ucc.american.edu/ted/ISRAELH2.HTM

   

Well, good thing the US attacked & took over Iraq then. Iraq has more water than most Middle-East countries up north in the mountains. Israel can get that diverted now that Saddam isn't running things.

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"These Yankee politicians are the lowest race of thieves in existence." - Sir John Sparrow Thompson

   

Yes. The game is afoot. But then, it always has been......But don't they have to go through Syria? Hmmmm!

   

And Turkey wants to dam the (Tigris/Euphrates - my ignorance is showing), so maybe Iraq doesn't really have all that much water.

   

Please get an ID so we know who we are talking to, it's free after all.

With all of the information out there about the history of the UK and the US in the middle east and their roles in creating and maintaining the dictatorships you talk about, it is ludicrous to make comments that indicate belief the US is some innocent party and/or some do-gooder nation that is only trying to bring "freedom" to the Iraqi people.

For your education, Iraq was created to serve British oil interests after WWI with borders that failed to take into account the various ethnic groups of the region and Britain started Iraq down the road to dictatorship by installing its first puppet king. Of course, it is now widely known that the US was supporting Saddam Hussain because of the billions of dollars invested during his gassing of Kurds, etc. (read Noam Chomsky's book Hegemony or Survival).

Need more? The idea that the US is bringing democracy to the people of this region the height of hypocrisy. In the 1940s and 1950s, Iran had an elected parliamentary government and a constitution that limited the powers of the monarchy (as Britain does). However, when the Iranian parliament decided to nationalize their oil industry the US and Britain got nervous, with the end result that in 1953 with the help of the CIA a coup took place that installed Reza Shah Pahlavi (the new Shah to be was too incompetent to do this on his own). Very soon after the coup he began violating Iran's constitution and became a dictator. His exploits in this capacity are notorius and include the murder of tens of thousands of Iranians and the US didn't even make a complaint about this for the next 30 years. See http://www.mideastweb.org/iranhistory.htm for the full article. By the way, the only search I did for this site was to enter "Iran history democracy" in google, so given this fact where is the excuse for your ignorance about these matters?

These are just two examples. For the past 50 years, the US has been politically interfering in these countries and elsewhere (look to South America for the US's next war on terrorism).

   

The US pressured Tirkey to do that before/during the 1st Iraq ataq, but Turkey didn't do it.

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"These Yankee politicians are the lowest race of thieves in existence." - Sir John Sparrow Thompson

   

<blockquote> they're held back by religion, dictators and now terrorists. </blockquote> <p> And the US is held back by the overt Christianity of their own dictators.( Separation of church and state is a much-touted myth when the Commander-in-chief states things like <a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0418/perlstein.php">"I've heard the call. I believe God wants me to run for president."</a> <p>as well, here's an interesting article on <a href="http://www.observer.com/pages/story.asp?ID=5333">Dubya being "God's man of the hour"</a>. Saying that the Mideast is held back by the same things that many would profess as strength in the US is just another example of US hypocrisy.</p> <p>Further, unless the terrorists are striking in the middle-east, they can hardly be said to be holding back progress there. It's much easier to believe the the US fear of terrorism (instilled by their own leaders to create a passive populace, and completely removed from any actual threat) is actually causing the US to give up whatever progress they may have once had. </p> <p>---<br>Jesse <br />

   

<p>Americans have not seen the same war the rest of the world saw. Still now, they have little idea of the pain caused by their illegal occupation of Iraq Americans are not hated for their freedoms. Americans are hated for their greediness, arrogance and ignorance. Their military might and the way they use it do not deserve anyone's respect. </p> <p>Here is but a fraction of images never seen by the American public. How many of them could sit through it and still remain proud of what is done in their name ?</p> <p>http://www.marchforjustice.com/Fallujah22.swf</p>

   

This one by RickW (or RPW)

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RickW

   

In my opinion, about 60% of the American public has been dumbed-down and mislead by their politicians (representatives of the moneyed elite) and their right-winged media. Another 30% already were beyond hope, while the other 10% are seriously scared to say anything lest they get labelled a... wait for it...liberal. Many are wondering if they should leave the country.

I figure Canada's ratio to be about 60%, 10%, and 30% of liberals thankfully not afraid to speak up, yet.

And the United States as innocents in all this is precisely the bullshit story that the media peddle. Anyone who beleives that crap is at best totally misinformed.

Welcome to Vive michou. Good to see another Chimpster hanging around these parts.

   

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