Country-bashing

[DexX]

Back when the US was first talking about going into Iraq I lost a few rather emotional American friends simply because I said it was a bad idea and linked to a friend of mine's essay on precisely why it was a bad idea and why it violated many international laws.

That very argument came up: "We're all shocked and grieving so we should be allowed to let our rage run free and do whatever makes us feel better."

I made an unpopular analogy. Let's say your friend Bob is a smoker and he suddenly found himself diagnosed with lung cancer, and died within weeks of diagnosis. Bob's wife Mary is livid, and wants to do something, so she tells you she's going to make a bomb and blow up a nearby Phillip Morris distribution centre, almost certainly killing a bunch of innocent employees.

Would you let her go ahead with it? Of course not. Grief-stricken rage is not a free pass to behave exactly as you want with no repercussions.

By refusing to tell my friends that their government was perfectly within its rights to kill untold thousands of civilians in a foreign country because something bad happened to them, I was apparently being insensitive and I lost a few friends over it. Personally I thought, and still think, that it was fucking insanity.

[AFPheonix]

I think this administration would like us to think it was our blind rage and sorrow that drove us into Iraq, but Bush was wanting to get back in there even before he was president, and this was a good excuse to go. I think secretly he wanted to show up his dad in SOMETHING.
Afghanistan was a valid invasion, and frankly I'm ok with our continuing presence there, and from what I've read most Afghans are, too. Iraq was a mistake from the start.

[Seshat]

I think it's time that - if the US government isn't doing so already - the US government reassess what they're doing in the Middle East. As my sig on the CS site says: deal with the situation you have now, however it happened.

Update your information on the nations involved. Sit some new people down to study it with fresh insight: if necessary use analysts from friendly nations like Britain for whom 9/11 didn't come as such a shock (since Brits have been handling terrorist attacks in their home country for a really long time).

Look over the situation and the new analysts' reports. Figure out what you think is the right thing to do NOW. Then do it. Withdraw from places you think you shouldn't be, given what you know now. Interfere in anything that you think you should be interfering in, given what you know now.

It's human nature to continue something you're already doing, but humans also have a long history of 'throwing good money after bad'.

Of course, not being close the US corridors of power (is it possible to get further away than Aussieland?), your government may well already be doing that.

As for you citizens: if you agree with me and you think your government isn't doing something like that, write to your congresscritter.

[AFPheonix]

Oh, believe me, I write my congresspeeps.
In fact, I let Gordon Smith know that he'd lost my vote for this year's election because he voted to approve force against Iran. Hello, already embroiled in 2 wars over there...bad idea!
Ron Wyden can do no wrong, as far as Oregon is concerned. I'd have his bald-headed babies if he wanted

I got a personal letter back explaining that he was concerned over comments made by Ahmedinijad, but the fact that my own senator doesn't understand that the President of Iran does not have control over the armed forces nor does he direct foreign policy, and thus could offer no teeth behind his words (as stupid and inflammatory as they are at times) did not sway me. Sorry bud, I voted for you before, and now you've just gotten to "republicany" for my taste.

Like I've said in another thread somewhere (maybe even in this one, I don't know) Condoleeza Rice is FINALLY retooling our diplomatic corps to attend to places that have more affects on us these days: getting away from tons of diplomats to Europe and hiring on new ones who are fluent in languages like farsi and other middle-eastern dialects and are more familiar with their cultural mores.
It only took 8 years of trolling around out there to figure that one out.

Also, it's another election year. We will most definitely have a new president and accompanying administration, (a Democratic one, provided they manage to not snatch defeat from the jaws of victory again), and new reps hanging onto the coattails of whoever gains power in the White House. There will be a new course of action, one way or another.

[Amethyst Hunter]

I got a personal letter back explaining that he was concerned over comments made by Ahmedinijad, but the fact that my own senator doesn't understand that the President of Iran does not have control over the armed forces nor does he direct foreign policy, and thus could offer no teeth behind his words (as stupid and inflammatory as they are at times) did not sway me.

Ahmadinejad is as nutty as our current jackass. The only difference is that the religion-abusing psychotics aren't in charge of our government - yet (and I hope to God never will be, because they'd make the Talibastards look like fuckin' Disneyland). The Iranian people are at least as disgusted with him as we are with ours.

I have heard very disturbing theories that the only reason we went into Iraq (aside from the fact that Shrubbie wanted revenge for Big Daddy's disgrace) was to use that as a stepping-stone for Iran (which has huge reserves of oil and natural gas and controls a crucial waterway for commerce). Frankly, given this assministration's fuckups, that wouldn't surprise me one bit. But poking this nest of bees when it isn't warranted would absolutely be a fatal error, and I hope to God people realize this and don't let the warmongers charge off on a suicide mission (except, they'd be killing us off instead of themselves).

[Spiffy McMoron]

I could understand how they think we're idiots. I mean come on, we let Paris Hilton produce an album? Credibility: 0. I formally apologize for that too.

Finally! Someone apologizes for Paris Hilton!

[AFPheonix]

Any apologies for Celine Dion?

[Boozy]

Any apologies for Celine Dion?

I'll admit she's batshit insane. But I blame the province of Quebec for that one. I'll let them apologize.

I will instead apologize whole-heartedly for Tom Green.

[AFPheonix]

That's alright. You guys blessed the world with the Red Green Show, so it's all good in my book

[DarthRetard]

I take the South Park route and Blame Canada anyways......

[Spiffy McMoron]

I take the South Park route and Blame Canada anyways......

To be fair, we did create that bitch Anne Murray.

[DarthRetard]

I think it's made up for with Dudley Dooright (did i spell that correctly?), though, even if brendan fraser did fuck that up.

And we gave the world Tom Cruise, who, from personal experience, is a bigger bitch than Anne Murray.

[DexX]

You can't blame us Aussies for Russell Crowe - he only lived here a while after being born in New Zealand. Same deal with everyone's favourite anti-Semite Mel Gibson - US born. I will happily lay claim to Guy Pearce, Geoffrey Rush, Cate Blanchett, Anthony LaPaglia, and Rachel Griffiths.

[protege]

And we gave the world Tom Cruise, who, from personal experience, is a bigger bitch than Anne Murray.

Correction. He's a couch-jumping bitch who can't act

[DarthRetard]

He didnt like it when I asked him if he really believed in Scientology. I got kicked out of the ATT store for it.