the Guardian is one of the ten most respected newspapers of the world - together with the NY Times, the FAZ and a few others besides: so far i haven´t read a single even remotely meaningful sentence written by the author "Babak"
msfe, I asked you a simple question. If you don't want to engage in constructive dialogue then just say so and I'll leave you to your cutting and pasting. You stated 'then democratize the US' which to me implies that you don't believe the Us to be a democracy. I again ask you, is this what you are saying? if so, then please tell me on what you are basing that statement? Your choice: 1] answer intelligently and enter into a constructive dialogue 2] continue in empty smart alecky remarks
Quote from Babak: You stated 'then democratize the US' which to me implies that you don't believe the Us to be a democracy. I again ask you, is this what you are saying? yes - that´s what i´m saying in the US it takes 5 dad-appointed judges and a brother in Florida to become president. in modern democracies like all EU member states and Switzerland you need the majority of votes.
That's it, pure and simple. A very unfortunate characteristic of being human is that we love to form groups and create an enemy. It is an unhealthy manifestation of our competitive spirit. And being the sole superpower with a very enviable standard of living makes us the perfect target for anyone looking for a convenient enemy. So long as we remain successful, we'll always be a target. No way around it.
Why do they hate us? Interesting question that probably says more about us than them. Do they sit around worrying, why do the Americans hate us or, in the case of the French, why do the Americans make fun of us? I doubt it. They are far too arrogant or ego-driven. It all revolves around them. Americans seem to have a desperate desire to be liked. Maybe it's a reflection of how feminized our society has become. I doubt Teddy Roosevelt spent a lot of time worrying about whether foreigners liked him. He damn well knew they feared him. There are very obvious reasons why the (a) Europeans and (b) Arabs hate, dislike or oppose us. The Europeans see a tri-polar world of the US, China and them. At the moment we are supreme, and their economies, which are hobbled by socialism and unmotivated workers, cannot hope to keep pace with us, much less surpass us. So they see their best chance of achieving parity through international organizations and agreements. They basically force us to pay for their socialist schemes through both direct contributions and economic inefficiency. As we lose sovereignty, we give up our freedom to conduct our affairs in the way our voters want and increasingly expose our country, its insitutions and its leaders to a variety of international kangeroo courts like the WTO, the International Court of Justice and the World Court. The global left tries hard to delegitimize our positions, using made-up issues like global warming and insults our political leaders. The Arabs, on the other hand, pose a far simpler but knottier problem. They hate us almost exclusively because of Israel. Many times I have had Arabs plead with me to explain why the US, which they sincerely respect, could take what to them is such an unfair position. It is a constant burr in their saddle that will not go away and colors their views of everything. Decades of propaganda have convinced them there is only one side to this issue. Now we add the jihadists of radical Islam to the mix and we have our current problem. It si tempting to say, well we will just force the Israeli's to do the right thing and settle with them, but it is not that simple. They will be satisfied with nothing less than the abolition of Israel. Whatever the arguments on either side, and I agree each side has valid points, that is not a solution we will ever accept, not should we. No doubt the corrupt, illegitimate, tyrannical regimes in the Middle East desperately want to keep this pot boiling to distract their populations from other matters, and that surely complicates a solution. Some have suggested that the Rumsfeld/Wolfowitz solution is to attempt regime change in several influential Arab countries. That seems unbelievable but who knows? Stable, pro-US regimes in Iraq, Iran, Syria and saudi Arabia would certainly change the dynamics of world politics and economics.
You're probably right about Israel, tho it helps to go back to post-WWII to get a better picture. Our relationship with Israel is based primarily on guilt. Unfortunately, we are the only country in the world to have felt this guilt. As for the necessity of whatever new regimes may emerge to be pro-US, perhaps not. It may be enough that they become democratic and develop some sense of freedom and responsibility. Otherwise, it's just a bunch of sheiks with heavy investments in the status quo. There's no reason for them to encourage the democratic process if it means giving up their palaces and limos. As for being liked, I hope these events prove to be a watershed. I very much hope that we won't care much anymore, if at all.