BCITORGB wrote:
TnT said:
==============
But I also know that some bearded warlord in Afganistan does affect
us
as well. I suspect that was part of the biggest shock to many
Americans
on 9/11. Our bubble burst. We all live in a world where we affect one
another.
=================

I don't mean to appear callous, but I think part of the problem lies
with a nation that has lived virtually untouched by the reast of the
world for 2 centuries. A nation that could afford to practice
isolationist policies. When your "bubble burst", you couldn't believe
it. And you likely over-reacted (see other posts putting the
casualities into perspective -- and I truly mean no disrespect to the
innocent victims of the bearded warlord).

Other nations, not isolated from neighbors by a huge ocean, better
understand the interconnectedness. By all means, go after the warlord
(as you know, most other nations supported you in those efforts). But
don't try to con the world into believing that a secular dictator has
anything in common with a religious fundamentalist (in this case, I'm
referring to Osama) who despises secularism. That, and WMD were
thinly
veiled excuses to gain control of oil.

TnT says:
===============
That does not mean that we should just go along with the other parts
of
the world, but that we should attempt to influence them with what we
believe.
==================

That's a tad arrogant, don't you think? When should I expect American
troops strolling down my boulevard and knocking on my door so as to
"influence" me to "believe" in the American dream?

Cheers,
frtzw906

I thought we were talking primarily about political differences and
activities, not military actions. For most of the two hundred years of
our country, we have been involved with the rest of the world as they
sent immigrant to our shores. My heritage is Scotch-Irish, German,
French, and a few others thrown in. My wifes grandparents were
Norwegian and Slavic. And that is just my family, there are millions of
families. We have folks here from all around the world affecting our
politics, and outlook on politics "back home." Now that they are
citizens of US they vote also, and a majority of them voted for Bush.

Obviously the isolation of distance across the ocean, is not as much
these days, and we are being impacted daily by the EU, South America,
Africa, and Asia. The days stockmarket start in Japan, and go on around
the world from their. My in-laws have a sugar beet farm in Mn, and the
price they get for their sugar is determined by world markets. The
price of surgar is down, they don't buy the tractor. Down even more,
they could lose the farm. Many have lost their farms and had to find
work elsewhere because of the price of sugar in South America.

The N. Korean Nuclear threat is very real, but we have not gone
storming in there, and are trying to get them to the negotiating table
with their neighbors such as S. Korea, China, and Japan. No one here
wants to fight that battle, but we cannot be held hostage either, but
we would rather see the asiatics solve the issue.

I do not expect to see our troops marching down the EU boulevards,
since they are civilized and appear willing to solve their own issues.
However they were not so willing to stop the fighting in Bosnia, or now
the Sudan. It is easy to set in your Ivory Palace, and say that you are
above getting your hands dirty with all this military stuff. But where
would you be if the US had not spent Billions if not Trillions after
WW2, maintained troops in Europe, and political pressure on the Iron
Curtain countries to take down the Wall.

We eventually saw the Wall come down, and recently we have see historic
elections where they have never been seen before. Perfect, no! But a
big step forward for mankind.

The safety in isolation we felt because of the ocean was burst on 9/11.
It is not that we were unaware of you. Now we are even more on guard!
We understand our vulnerability to oil supplies, and will attempt to
protect them from tyrants. Oil recently in history has been a big
factor for fighting wars as countries became more industrialized. Which
sort of brings us back to the OP of this thread.

The Middle East is central in any discussion of oil, I don't care where
on earth you are politically. And the Middle East is central in many
religious issues, including Christianity, and in particular
Fundementalist Christianity. So the stage is being set for a titan
struggle like the world has never seen before. Are you ready? TnT