SouthAmerica, your assumptions and presumptions are ambitious but I doubt they are worthwhile or practical. If Iraq under Saddam could not destablize middle east then Iran has little chance given it is not an Arab nation, it is persian. US has kept German nazis, Japanese hard fascists and Russian commies under check, it is only people like you who are trying to break the calm of the world progress but being hostile to US. You will not succeed because God loves humanity not nazis, commies, fascists and terrorists. They belong in hell with you.
"The reality today is that US prestige, power and clout is in decline even around the United Stateâs backyard â never mind its prestige and declining power around the rest of the world." Powers, Cultures, Civilizations rise, peak, decline and fall, this is the law of nature and most CONSTANT way the history and time progress. China was nothing in 1980 and now it is second most prominent nation on earth. US is going nowhere to regional status even in the next 25 years. You have a long wait Commie Dude!
. Toc: SouthAmerica, your assumptions and presumptions are ambitious but I doubt they are worthwhile or practical. If Iraq under Saddam could not destablize middle east then Iran has little chance given it is not an Arab nation, it is persian. US has kept German nazis, Japanese hard fascists and Russian commies under check, it is only people like you who are trying to break the calm of the world progress but being hostile to US. You will not succeed because God loves humanity not nazis, commies, fascists and terrorists. They belong in hell with you. ********* February 15, 2006 SouthAmerica: I just want to remind you that until recent times (the late 1980âs) Saddam Hussein was an ally of the United States â things got sour when Saddam decided to go against US wishes and interests. By the way, another ally of the United States it was - Osama Bin Ladden during the Afghanistan civil war â when the Soviets were the bad guys. Suddenly, according to you the Iranians become Persians (which they have been all along) instead of Shiite Moslems. You have to put yourself on the Iranians shoes for a moment to be able to understand their position â and realize why they need their nuclear weapons. They have in one side an Afghanistan that is in the process of collapsing into complete chaos â and a return to total civil war. The current government in Kabul has anything to say only in the Green Zone â inside Kabul - and they are under American influence which is completely clueless on what to do in the area. In the other side they have Iraq under US occupation (also completely clueless about what is happening inside Iraq) and Iraq is in the middle of a nasty civil war. On top of that the United States is trying very hard to also destabilize Iran and their current government. Another example of how clueless Americans are regarding the Middle East â it was the win of Hamas by the Palestinians â and Hamas did win by a large number of votes giving them a solid mandate. I wonder if the current American policy regarding the Middle East is to make the entire place in shambles and in chaos. (I understand that we have the most incompetent government in US history today â making messes around the world and losing a friend after another.) ********* Toc: US is going nowhere to regional status even in the next 25 years. You have a long wait Commie Dude! ********* SouthAmerica: Why you are trying to say is: the US is going nowhere fast â not only since Bush became president in January 2001 but also in the next 25 years. I have news for you. It does not take 25 years anymore for a country to go from a status of a superpower to the status of a âBasket case.â â Just look what happened to the Soviet Union â a collapse today can happen even faster than what happened to the Soviets in the late 1980âs. Today, collapses happen at the speed of light and it is broadcasted for the entire world to see it in real time. It did not take long for the entire South American continent to say good-bye to the United States. If you think that American influence is strong in South America then you donât know what is going on in South America. (And South America is right around the corner from the USâs backyard.) The incompetence of the current US government in Washington does not affect only its domestic policies â they also are clueless about what is going on around the world. They are messing everything up and there is no end in sight. We have only Idiots running the US government today. Since George W. Bush became president in January 2001 - US foreign policy has been a disaster after another - Today we can say that the US has its worst group of people running foreign policy for the United States - a Secretary of State who is completely incompetent and irrelevant - an idiot as ambassador to the United Nations and so on..... American foreign policy is in a MESS. .
"Just look what happened to the Soviet Union â a collapse today can happen even faster than what happened to the Soviets in the late 1980âs." Soviets thought that they give up Communism and Americans will run to them with bags full of dollars. Hahahahahahahahaha! When Americans did not come then they started to loot their own country and ran to Swiss banks with bags full of dollars. One thing I will agree with you SA: that today's US government is run by idiots and in reality TRAITORS who have done more harm to US than any one else. However, I do not think that US will meet the same fate as USSR as Americans are proudy, hard working and focused people and do not look to others for aid and help. USSR was a hollow entity, a phantom power only in terms of military it was bound to collapse. US can live and progress without the whole world and not true the other way round.
TOC, "One thing I will agree with you SA: that today's US government is run by idiots and in reality TRAITORS who have done more harm to US than any one else. However, I do not think that US will meet the same fate as USSR as Americans are proudy, hard working and focused people and do not look to others for aid and help. USSR was a hollow entity, a phantom power only in terms of military it was bound to collapse. US can live and progress without the whole world and not true the other way round. [/B][/QUOTE] You cant honestly belive that, thats just dumb, just garbage. Firstly, your suggesting soviets DONT KNOW how to work, after decades of state sponsored slavery? The us would not cease to exist, if it suddenly reverted back to a fully subsidised closed farm economy, no, but you are completely delusional to think the world would suddenly vanish without the trade of the US. It is unilateral, one directional "free trade" by which the united states IS supporting itself, via sizable global poly-corporate vertical integration. OPM. By all means, close up them borders, because it will probably be necessary in the long run anyway, but spare me, or anyone else, your pax americana- your- all- peasants- CRAP.
. February 16, 2006 SouthAmerica: Reply to toc Last week I did turn the television to check the stock market and when I was surfing the channels I stopped on CNN since president Bush Senior was in the last minute of his speech at Mrs. King funeral services. The following speaker was former president Bill Clinton â Bushâs Senior remarks drew some applause from the audience - but it was nothing like the roaring ovation Clinton received later when he stepped to the podium with his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. President Clinton had to hold his hands up in a gesture for people to stop applauding so that he could speak. In the meantime, when the camera was showing the speaker at the podium you also could see George W. Bush (The Jackass) in the background. The standing ovation that the people gave to president Bill Clinton reflects the fact that the American people still can recognize when the United States have a great leader â a leader with superior intelligence â a leader that surround himself with quality people such as Lloyd M. Bentsen, Robert Rubin, Robert B. Reich, and many others. During the Clinton years the United States had competent people in key positions. Today we have nothing â Zero, Ziltch, nadaâ¦. Overnight, the United States went from having a first-class group of people and a very good government during the Clinton years to having today a government completely incompetent that looks and acts more like a third-world country and a âBanana Republic.â Bill Clinton is and was during his administration - âThe Real Thingâ - a great leader an outstanding statesman and a world-class political figure. In the other hand, George W. Bush is a world-class âJackassâ â and the rest of the world knows that. All I can say is that it will take many years for the United States to recover and try to fix the damage â domestic and international â done during the years of the Bush administration â and it does not matter if the next administration is Republican or Democrat â they are going to inherit a colossal mess. .
Thats your perspective... I was speaking to a fellow this morning who said he was thrilled to have someone in the white house who isn't afraid to protect the interests of the united states... Even if it means making unpopular decisions and a few enemies along the way. You call this damage. The evil doers have oil , we need oil... they attacked us, so we not only attacked the evil doers back ...but we even attack future evil doers ....with oil....very progressive... He went on to say how it's about time we got someone in the whithouse with some balls who understands that actions taken to protect us interests will definitely cause concern from countries who's interests are being threatened... Obviously, whats good for us ain't good for them... That was his perspective...... You think your right ..... I'm sure he thinks he's right. Nick
. February 17, 2006 SouthAmerica: The US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice strategy regarding Iranâs nuclear weapons program is â Whining a lot for the rest of the world to see it - complemented by lots of wishful thinking. As far as I can remember she is the most worthless Secretary of State the United States had at least in recent history. The entire world knows that she is just a yes person and nothing else. If George W. Bush had at least a minimum amount of brain on his head â he would ask for his fatherâs Secretary of State to help him out from this mess and 100 percent lack of credibility around the world. James Baker III is a Republican, and a heavy weight â in the other hand Condoleezza Rice is just an amateur and very incompetent. Condoleezza Rice should stick with what she does best â play the piano and ice-skating, and leave foreign policy for the people of the caliber of James Baker III. ******** âUS urges wary Arabs to threaten to isolate Iranâ Reuters â February 17, 2006 By Saul Hudson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged reluctant Arab nations on Friday to threaten to isolate Iran unless it bows to international pressure to curb its suspected nuclear weapons programs. Her appeal to Iran's neighbors came before she visits Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates next week to lobby them to join a U.S. campaign against Iran⦠â¦"I would hope that those states that are worried about this ... are prepared to really say to the Iranians: 'You are going to be isolated from us too if you continue down this road,'" Rice said in an interview with Arab-based media about her planned talks on the trip. "There is really now an obligation to let the Iranians know in no uncertain terms that this isolation is going to be complete," she added. As part of a strategy to woo Arab nations with a message she hopes resonates with them, Rice also highlighted U.S. concerns Iran is destabilizing the region by backing militant groups in Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories. Arab governments have expressed concern about Iran's nuclear ambitions. But they are generally wary of giving explicit support to any U.S. policies when many in the region are angry at what they see as anti-Muslim American policies because of the Iraq war and perceived pro-Israel stances against Palestinians. Against the backdrop of chaos in Iraq, the governments are especially reluctant to back American pressure against another neighbor. "Most countries in the Gulf do not have to be persuaded that a nuclear Iran is a threat to them," said Jon Alterman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank. "But they ask if the cure is worse than the disease." "There is a certain Arab reluctance to embrace American solutions that could destabilize the politics in Iran, especially when they look at Iraq," he added. .