A WISE MOVE?
Posted on January 23rd, 2009 by joebib into the Politics, joebib writes categoryYesterday, President Obama signed an executive order calling for the closing of Guantanamo Bay, to take place within the next year. He said, "We are not going to continue with a false choice between our safety and our ideals.”
While lauded in some quarters, his decision was decried by, among others, families of the 9/11 victims (here).
Do you agree with him?
-joe
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January 23rd, 2009 at 8:58 am
I guess if Jesus pardoned those who betrayed him later, i guess we can pardon those who want to come back and blow us up.
January 23rd, 2009 at 10:44 am
Detainee went from Gitmo to al Qaeda officials say. What follows is an excerpt of the CNN story.
Wise move? No. But the Dem youngsters need their turn at the helm and the opportunity to learn what those of us have lived through several wars learned a long time ago. Enemies need more than a slap on the wrist and mandatory ethics / morality training.
Me thinks young Dems will learn the value of “eye for eye, tooth for tooth” in the next 8 years.
Joe - the first presidential election I voted in, was Carter vs. what’s his name. I voted for Carter (D). Then came the American hostages in Iran and nightly video clips of that ordeal, where for the first time I saw the hatred of radical Muslims for Americans, Christians and Jews. Carter negotiated, reasoned and attempted a single (ill-advised) military rescue. But nightly, America was humiliated by Iran. In 1980, I voted for Reagan (R). End of hostage situation.
I feel as if we’ve traveled back in time to 1979. Perhaps 30 years from now, some of the Dem youngsters who blog here, will be a little more hawkish in their views. But I can’t blame ‘em - I had the same ideals 30 years ago - reality changed that however.
January 23rd, 2009 at 11:24 am
I absolutely support President Obama’s decision.
I hurts to read the above comments; these people are not inherently evil because they are middle-eastern or Muslim, nor have they done anything that our own C.I.A. has not done.
The Iran situation had nothing to do with religion - it was completely political. The U.S. had supported the overthrowing of their democratic government and had installed a fascist dictator in order to insure U.S. access to oil. The citizens of the middle-east despise our country because we are imperialists; they despise Christianity because they cannot envision Christianity without U.S. imperialism, colonialism, and developing-world exploitation.
I would rather follow Christ’s commandment to love one’s enemies and die, than imprison and bomb our enemies to the ground simply because they resist American global hegemony!
January 23rd, 2009 at 12:06 pm
I’m mixed…
Torture and unjust punishment is wrong, but crazy radicals loose on the streets is not a good thing either. I think Guantanamo has served it’s purpose. Time to move on. At least now the rest of the world will respect us again.
January 23rd, 2009 at 12:43 pm
Bishop,
You are a moron. They don’t despise us because we are imperialists. They despise us because Israel is our ally, and also we do not submit to Islam. They hate the fact that wherever America goes, Christianity follows.
They probably despise us even more with a liberal government for the simple fact that morals no longer influence our rule of law. We become governed by a liberal Hollywood philosophy that contains the complete antithesis of what Islamic religion and political values are. They hate legalized drugs, they hate homosexuality, they hate prostitution.
Here’s a thought for you. There’s not one time in history where 2 democratic nations have gone to war against one another.
Let me ask another question. If a serial killer threatened your family would you not prosecute them just so you can show them God’s love? Would you beg the police not to shoot the killer if he broke into your home? Would you ask the police to ignore him while he was plotting his killing spree? Would you want the police to get a man on the inside of the killer’s operation so you can find intel about what he’s doing? Would you take the killer out while he was at your house or his, or would you want to protect his rights and his privacy? Basically your philosophy is that if a crime is not being plotted on my property then justice has no jurisdiction.
What exactly is your definition of love your enemy when it comes to the safety of your family? What’s the difference when it comes to your country? Can freedom and justice be fought without blood if there is evil in the world?
I’m sick of all the American pessimism. Let me ask also, do we exploit other countries because we are the most generous nation in the world? Are we colonial and imperial because We defeat countries like germany, japan, iraq, and give their land back to them, unlike any other country in history? Please, i’d like to hear how these results do not matter?
I tell you one thing that i appreciate about terrorists more than you, is regardless of the lack of things to be proud about in their country, they still have a sense of pride over their land.
I’m just sick of all the US bashing lately. Yeah, yeah, time to stop torture, and war, and bla bla bla. Yes, Yes, U.S. sucks, and we make sucky cars, and we had an illiterate president, and Europe is so much more peaceful, and canada has healthcare for everyone, and you can smoke pot in Amsterdam, and France has a great culture, and China has more olympic gold medals, and America acts like a bully . . .etc. . . You know what, time to be proud of what we have done. We’re the most prosperous, most generous nation you flippin pessimist.
I’m so sick of the “America is a bully” mentality coming from within. You want a bully? Go to china, or any other communist country. You want a bully go to Iraq with Sadam in power. You want a bully, go to the parts of Africa that is run over by gangs and small violent groups. If you want a bully, America is not it. A bully doesn’t rebuild your country or pay for anything. Sure, we’ve been wrong about wars, and the economy, and everything you can flippin imagine, but i guarantee, that by the looks of our generosity, and prosperity, we’ve gotten more things right than any other country. So start pointing the finger at yourself.
January 23rd, 2009 at 1:44 pm
Steward,
Your post was the most disgusting piece of fascist literature, written with words meant to describe a sewer overflowing with the waste of right-wing propaganda and racism. Your mouth spews the nonsense cooked-up in the capitalist laboratories found in the deepest dingy basements of the American corporate death-labs. Your prose reeks of the close-mindedness that plagues American evangelicalism, and your mind is the byproduct of a sick scientific experiment with Dick Cheney and Jerry Falwell.
Your education comes from the University of Phoenix and you have never read a single piece of intelligent literature in your entire life! Tolstoy is as foreign to you as the passport you need to leave the U.S. and actually experience what American global hegemony is doing to the world. Your arguments are so nonsensical that they do not even deserve to be answered.
So you think we are the most prosperous nation in the world, but at what cost? Over 80% of the world’s natural resources? An entire continent of sweatshops and slave labor that exist only for the lush lifestyle of the American middle-class? The pennies we spend on foreign aid pales in comparison to debt we owe the world. The destruction of the Philippines, Greece, the middle-east, Vietnam, South America? The execution of Che Guevara? The testing of U.S. stealth bombers on innocent citizens of Panama City? Our industrial rape of the earth? Or perhaps the generation of stupid uneducated illiterate Americans who are so blind… who think that one million Iraqis dead is still not enough to even the score! Down with America! If there is such a thing as the whore of Babylon… America is it. (But of course I follow the liberal Christian tradition that interprets Revelation against the context of apocalyptic literature and symbolism and do not accept the retarded exegetical faeces found in the last century of American evangelicalism).
January 23rd, 2009 at 2:18 pm
Uh, Steward and Bishop, let’s try to keep it cool. Don’t make me break out my pictures of hotties.
And you know what, I’m okay with Obama closing Gitmo. Because, frankly on my list of concerns in life, terrorism ranks near the bottom. The odds of me dying in a terrorist attack are so slim, that I just don’t worry about it.
I am however, terrified about this economy and losing my job. And I think Gitmo is just a distraction. Let’s focus on making America better.
January 23rd, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Bishop,
Your first two paragraphs were very poetic and yet, empty.
So we get credit for the poor quality of south america, and no credit for the peace in Canada? So we get credit for bombing Panama City but none for eliminating genocidal march of the Nazi regime, and the freedom in Germany today? So all the bad in the world is our fault, and all the good is not?
January 23rd, 2009 at 3:51 pm
Well I haven’t posted in a while so I had to get my ad hominem hyperbolic diatribe fix somehow. Honestly, this issue is an impasse. From my perspective, history is written by the winners, which is why Hitler is bad and we are good. If Hitler had won, then we would not calling Nazism wrong. I blame the U.S. not simply for military wrongs, and neither will I ignore the rights that she has done. I blame the U.S. for misusing the power and opportunity that was given to it after WWII. The U.S. saw how hunger for power and control of the world devastated the world. It saw how colonialism had cut the world up for the benefit of the white European. And yet, instead of walking home as heroes, the U.S. said “now it’s our turn.” We have simply accepted the imperialist mantle while pretending that we are extending peace and happiness. Instead of honestly about our imperialistic agenda, we pretend that we our saving the world from the evils of “communism” or “terrorism,” or whatever label we need to generate to place fear in the hearts of the populace, which blinds them to the real agenda of the U.S. military which is to secure the world for our exploitation. So no, I am not saying that all the bad is our fault. I am saying that we have cooked up a new way to do bad things while keeping people blind to what we are doing. Hitler was blunt, easy to judge, but the U.S. is ingeniously subtle about our evil. We proselytize our message of capitalism and consumerism conjoined with Christianity, while confusing our “enemies” with regards to what Christianity really is. We are not a Christian nation, never have been, never will be. If God really wanted to bless the world, he would annihilate this entire country. We are the greatest evil.
January 23rd, 2009 at 3:54 pm
More hotties please, Cat.
January 23rd, 2009 at 8:35 pm
Our political system (Executive, judicial, and legislative branches) is probably the best governmental system ever created. It is a system of the greatest accountability and checks and balances than any other out there. It is not perfect, because it does not prevent men from being evil and greedy. Yes, there are loopholes to extort people. But give any other dictator solely the power that the whole U.S. government has now, and you will see someone worse than Hitler, Stalin, and Hussein combined. The U.S. government has been good compared to what destruction we could do. We have been good compared to what some dictators would do with this power. Not that “what we didn’t do” is a good measure of how good we are.
Yes, our message has been capitalism, and consumerism. I agree. But it’s also been freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to defend yourself, freedom to pursure wealth, freedom to vote, freedom to change your country without a dictator executing you. In some communist regimes you would be jailed for your words against the government.
You seem bitter about how U.S. represents Christ, and i completely agree with your feelings, but i can’t find any other single nation that represents Christ well either. So why aren’t you pouting about other countries? My friend, the world has turned their back on God. It isn’t just the U.S.
It’s ironic because you are pouting about the country that conveniently allows you the freedom to do something and say something about it. Now that’s pretty fricken awesome! What system out there allows people who disagree with how things are being done, to vote for change? Last i checked, they are few and far between. If you don’t think that the opportunity to vote for change, and protest in freedom, isn’t enough to call America awesome, then i don’t know what you are looking for in a country? Perfection? You are not gonna find it. You have the opportunity to change the wrong and do what’s right. That is a luxury most countries don’t allow their people to have and that is why America is great!
January 23rd, 2009 at 8:40 pm
Bishop,
What are some of the best nations on earth in your opinion? I am not asking to be sarcastic. My wife grew up overseas. Her parents have lived in Western Europe for about 30 years. So, I understand an appreciation for other cultures and countries. I want to know your opinion.
If I remember correctly you are a socialist/marxist, right?
BTW: As I discovered discussing the election and the state of the American system and psyche with my family, most folks don’t appreciate the grad school banter.
January 23rd, 2009 at 9:07 pm
Oh, for CRYING out loud.
First, most of the people who are in there have never been formally charged with anything.
Does anyone here remember Habeas Corpus? That ‘quaint’ notion that came in with the Magna Carta? That no sovereign has the right to hold people imprisoned indefinitely “just becuz”?
I sure am glad Obama remembers it, because it is one of the foundations of our democracy.
Alongside that CNN item about the homing pigeon terrorist let’s set another item. The one about how some of these people are ‘too dangerous to let go’ but ALL THE EVIDENCE that they are ‘dangerous’ was obtained via torture. Of them and their buddies.
Uh huh. I’m willing to bet my eternal salvation that there isn’t one person reading or posting here who could withstand waterboarding or having live wires strung up from your private parts. Five minutes of that and anybody here would be ready to sign a statement that you kill and eat babies for Sunday dinner, and so does the guy in the next cell, in fact you swap recipes.
Then we’d be blathering about how dangerous you are, you Sunday evening baby-killers, but oh boo hoo, we can’t try you because the evidence is tainted.
Let’s try a little thought experiment. You go on pilgrimage to Jerusalem and while there, are captured and imprisoned by political extremists. Doesn’t matter what kind. HyperZionists, Islamofascists, chocaholics. And they torture you into confessing that you swap french fried baby recipes with your grandma. And then they insist that you can’t be released because you’re too dangerous, and your confession under torture proves it.
You’re a criminal baby-eating monster, then, right?
Sure you are. Absolutely. And if they let you go, you are going to french fry the first baby you get your criminal monster hands on, for lunch. Because when you were tortured, you told them so. And you certainly wouldn’t lie under torture just to make it stop, now would you?
Sweet suffering Lord on a moped, my own damn species is too freaking stupid to live.
January 23rd, 2009 at 9:19 pm
And now let’s drop the other shoe.
Anyone remember that guy, Slobodan Milosevic? The Butcher of Bosnia? Let’s see now, what happened to him? Did we dig him out of a rathole and hang him in a trumped up kangaroo court? No no noooo no. Did we bomb him into little smithereens with white phosphorus? No no noooo no. Did we ‘extraordinarily render’ his vicious butt to the Saudis or stuff him into Gitmo to rot?
Why no. His captors turned his sorry tail over to the International Court of Justice.
Remember them? Those people in the Hague with the funny accents? Whom we flipped off right before we started dropping white phosphorus on little kids in Baghdad, like good Christians?
The people we could turn over any truly suspected terrorists to, for trial under international law, if we hadn’t flipped off international law so we could go bomb those little Ay-rab kids [for truth justice and the American way hey hey]?
Long string of really inventive expletives.
No self-respecting monkey would admit we’re even part of the family.
January 23rd, 2009 at 9:32 pm
So, who writes and passes international law anyway?
Milosevic is a poor example. What happened to all of his henchmen? This would be a better example. I have no idea what happened to all of the middle men?
Fair minded people can disagree on these things.
January 23rd, 2009 at 10:49 pm
Ah well. Who writes and passes US law, for that matter? Why should it be taken any more seriously than any other law?
In the days of the Judges, there was no King in Israel; every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
You’re right, people can disagree. I’m disgusted and ashamed re our behavior as a nation following 9/11, but I should probably throttle back on the emotion when I talk about it. I don’t admire trolls and shouldn’t be emulating one in that regard.
January 24th, 2009 at 5:42 am
From the disturbing demagoguery of the (demented?) OP, to the flatulent flagwaving of a (tipsy?) tithing tutor…
Against the sappy sophistry of an (idiot?) savant-wannabe, to the proudful pretensions of a (narcissistic?) Ph.D. poetess…
Even amidst the pragmatic pratings of (prissy?) paralegals, and the naïveté of a (nerdy?) neanderthal…
One halcyon voice rises above the din of the madding crowd to stand alone in providing punctilious, persuasive, and pertinent poignancy, causing us to bow as one to his solemn, sober sagacity……
Well done, 'Scrupy-do.
-joe
January 24th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
Joe: Did you call Jesse Jackson to get some help with that?
There will always be a tension between personal freedom and corporate security/safety. IMO, there is no real balance on this issue or if there is, it is so razor thin that a society and balance on it. We have had a administration that has fallen on the corporate security side. The pendulum is now swinging the other way. Rest assured it will continue to swing back and forth.
In America, we have to realize that even peace loving Western Europe is working to find ways to tighten up some things. They also have the freedom not to worry about their security in the way we do because we are defending them.
January 24th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
Wait… this better not be me.
I’m no idiot. Given my social/political allegiances to Marxism, my conclusions are valid; to those who do not accept my allegiances and intellectual commitments, everything I say sounds like sophistry and nonsense.
That is why this debate will never end, nor will I ever learn my lesson not to post on this blog again. No defense of mine will ever please those who oppose me because we are speaking different languages.
This blog should just stick to the ecclesiastical issues that it began with. It’s becoming a blog-wal-mart. (funny south park episode goes here)
January 24th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
Bishop,
Again, where are the best countries in the world to live? I am not being antagonistic. I am interested in your opinion.
January 24th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
Heh - I like that - but would have sounded better to just say “BlogMart”
And we’re not speaking different languages, it’s just that me and Joe are talking out our mouths …
January 25th, 2009 at 7:44 am
Well Fred, I have listened to more of his speeches than I care to remember
Good point on the mindset of Western Europe, BTW.
Don't worry Craig. I've been known as the family I-S for years…..my brother even calls me Dustin.
Anyone in pursuit of a doctorate has earned a lifetime C-BUS-C pass in my book, as we have far too many unthinking, uneducated Christians nowadays. I also appreciate (if disagree with) the desire for theological-philosophical balance on your blog.
Even if you do have it all wrong on Inspiration.
(Too bad you never got to hear Dr. Pecota on that topic….the man was just brilliant)
-joe
January 25th, 2009 at 8:28 am
Yeah joe that is what I heard too. But well… we’ve already been through that issue (:
Countries? Well…. New Zealand, Denmark, The Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Australia, Switzerland, maybe Canada.
January 25th, 2009 at 9:02 am
Hey Craig, having checked out these past months the doctrinal views posted on your blog I’ve been curious as to how all those dispensational NU profs viewed your various theological and philosophical leanings/opinions/positions. Any flack?
When I was there, Northwest walked in lockstep with avowed AG doctrine, and anything to dare question it was viewed askance.
-joe
January 25th, 2009 at 9:27 am
Tell me about it, 'Scrupe.
I remember back in the day being laughed at as naïve and was even ridiculed (literally) — as well as was called unbiblical — by a certain PBC Dean (no longer there) for being against war and violence (quoted Matthew 5:44 to him), specifically in regard to U.S. foreign policy.
It was kinda fun to be a liberal firebrand for a while, though. Heck, I even wanted Teddy to be President in spite of chappaquidick (sp?).
-joe
January 25th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
joe:
fred:
No, I think joe got Frank to help. He’s the king of alliteration, after all.
January 26th, 2009 at 1:20 am
Hahahahaa…I have been accused of being brainwashed with leftist ideas since I entered college (or the real world)
And all because I said that I support the principle of quality public education available to all citizens. And that I was against war
January 26th, 2009 at 11:54 am
Bishop as I read your comments I couldn’t help but think of Good Will Hunting. They reminded me of the incredibly weird college dude who kept trying to impress Minnie Driver with fancy rhetoric and non-sensical intellect.
Haha, I’m laughing just thinking about that scene.
I wonder when Matt Damon is going to show up at your doorstep and ask, “Do you like apples?”
January 26th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
Hilarious. You nailed it with that. I’m no Matt Damon but…
“Hey Craig…how bout them apples?”
January 26th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Joe,
Actually I learned most of my “doctrinal” views from my NU profs, whom I guess you would consider to be as “liberal” as they come. I did have one “conservative” professor, who believed in inerrancy and such - I liked him - but we definitely disagreed on several points.
Jaspercreel and Reformed Pope,
Sorry, I have not seen that movie; I’m really bad with movies. I spend more time trying to figure out Hegel than developing cinema fluency.
Unfortunately, I am really not trying to impress anyone. My words sound funny to you, but then again I doubt that any of you have philosophy professors with PhDs telling you that your papers are worth publishing. I doubt that you spend your nights interpreting Hegel, Marx, Husserl, and Heidegger. I’m not trying to show-off; I”m just putting things in context. From my perspective, a lot of what I read on this blog comes from a bunch of 50-year-old wannabe avant-garde bloggers, who graduated from Portland Bible College and think Noam Chomsky is the name of a dead polish communist. From your perspective, I’m a wannabe know-it-all name-dropping unexperienced kid who doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Who is right? Whose view best corresponds to reality? Both… until we actually meet each other outside of cyberspace and then we would probably get along quite well, and you all would realize that I’m not as pretentious as I sound, and I would realize that you all aren’t the losers that I think you are (:
Meet me in Spokane at the Elk pub. Beer is on me so long as it is a stout or a porter!
January 26th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
I think we would get along well Bishop.
If, however, you are writing on a blog filled with “50-year-old wannabe avant-garde” people, maybe you could try blogging in a language they can understand. That would help with the whole pretentious thing.
January 26th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
Actually, Bishop, we are who we are regardless of our careers / hobbies / education / histories. While those things may shape our characters, they do not define it.
I have a friend who is actively working on his PhD in philosphy. When I found out what he does, I did not think “Wow, what a pretentious ass.” If he told me he spent the night interpreting Hegel, Marx, etc., I would probably tell him, “That sounds interesting. Have a good time!”
My point being that you cannot defend your communication style on your career. Every venue (including blogs) have its own level of relating. If you are outside the boundaries, you will be criticized. Either change your style or accept persecution.
If you are criticized for being too wordy, then edit.
If you are criticized for being harsh, soften up.
If you are criticized for being too pedantic, simplify your vocabulary.
If you don’t care, then don’t complain and denegrate everyone else.
Ok, the parental lecture is over.
January 26th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
Anna,
Thank you for your parental lecture. I might only point out that my “complaining” is simply the response to the “complaints” about my writing in the first place.
So, I will try to communicate as a “normal” person would. And I will try not to explode just for fun on anyone again.
So, can we all drop the caricatures and get along?
I’m still on for that beer.
January 26th, 2009 at 6:47 pm
Now this I take offense too…I am the complete opposite of your description Bishop and of the people I actually know who post on here, none of them fit this realm either. I personally am not even 30 and have spent all of my 20s in secular, big name colleges earning multiple degrees.
I think what this all comes down to is another big problem in the American church today. Christians are so trained to be conservative, republicans that anyone who thinks otherwise and is public about it will often be openly criticized and sometimes downright ridiculed for it. To many free-thinking, educated, smart people loose all sense of individually within months of joining a church. It’s very sad. We should all be able to come together regardless of our political beliefs…but I wonder if this will ever be able to happen?
January 26th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
Your words don’t sound funny to me they sound insecure.
Stout or Porter huh? Hey…I just typed “Craig the self proclaim philosopher” into the Urban Dictionary and look what came up.
Who would have thought?
January 26th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
Eggheads - won’t find any in my fave 5 that’s for sure.
Bishop, in all your studies, have you ever studied the Meiers / Briggs / Keirsey Temperament Sorter?
I had worked in aerospace for nearly 20 years before learning about temperament types and how they affected relationships. The group I worked with had several hostile working relationships, the worst being the relationship between me and a coworker - so everyone in the group was asked to submit to the Keirsey temperament sorter as a step to understanding the conflicts. After taking the sorter, we were lined up according to our type and degree. The coworker and I were extreme opposites - me being the iNtuitive Feeling (artisan/counselor) type - the coworker being the Sensing Thinking (egghead) type.
Where a web site like this caters to people who have bailed out of the IC, often with feelings of betrayal, I wouldn’t be surprised to find a greater number of people here who are motivated moreso by iNtuiion and Feelings, than are driven by education / theological studies.
Likewise, I wouldn’t be surprised to discover that people leaving the IC do so more often based on what they do *not* feel from the IC, such as love, acceptance and inclusion (i.e., matters of the heart) than do based on theological difference (i.e., matters of the mind). But I imagine facts and data on that are scarce. May be an interesting search of Barna to find out …
Anyway - you might find the Keirsey studies a valuable tool for understanding us non-eggheads.
Ya dork.
January 27th, 2009 at 11:15 am
Reformer, Reformed Pope,
What the hell! I’ve already admitted that I was using caricatures rhetorically to communicate that I dislike being judged because of my age or area of interest. I DON’T actually think that you guys are 50-year-old University of Phoenix grads. Do I need to be more clear?
I’m also not aware of any official criteria for being a “philosopher” - I chose the name a long time ago - it’s meaningless. I don’t even like being called a philosopher. No one really even understands what philosophy is these days; they think it has something to do with self-help, psychology, or debate.
Scrupe,
Never heard of it. I myself am not really a science/stats lover - I think you can prove anything if you want to. So, someone else might have to do that research for us!
January 27th, 2009 at 11:30 am
“pretentious”
Trying to sound intelligent by using long, complicated words, even though you don’t know what they mean.
Thanks Reformed Pope. Being the incredible scholarly source that it is, the Urban Dictionary has prompted me take precautions before using a big word, since I am now concerned that I might not know the meanings of the words I use. (assuming words have meanings of course… French post-structuralism has challenged this quite convincingly)
January 27th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
Getting back on topic I have to say that I agree, nay, am glad that Obama close Gitmo. It’s a small step, but nonetheless it’s a step in the right direction. When we abandon our ideals and our morals and start torturing people, holding them without trial, arraignment, or lawyers and violating our OWN rules which we have set up to govern ourselves in the face of Islamic terrorism, then the Islamic terrorists have won.
As long as we continue the present course of action against what WE define as “terrorism”, we will not only never win but serve to further validate the grievances of the “evildoers” in the eyes of the rest of the world. The FBI defines terrorism as “The unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a Government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.” If that is our official definition of terrorism, then what makes what we’re doing in the Middle East right now not state-sponsored terrorism? Because we’re only responding to their terrorism? They could (quite justifiably) claim to be responding to our prior interferences in their region (ie. Israel/Gaza).
If we’re such great, moral world leaders, why have we consistently vetoed UN resolutions that would promote much greater peace and stability in the Middle East, resolutions which the rest of the world (except Israel) has near unanimously passed? Why do we continue dropping bombs in Pakistani villages (against international law) when Pakistan is currently an ally of ours? We sit here in the comfort of the borders of the great red, white and blue and tout our moral superiority and our moral government and our near-perfect Constitution, yet we are the biggest violators of the international law we helped create and signed off on; we are the shadow of terror that is cast over most of the globe.
I have to agree with the bishop, the grand ole’ U.S. of A. is the most evil nation on earth.
January 27th, 2009 at 9:57 pm
Well at least someone thinks I’m making sense.
Speaking of vetoing UN resolutions, check out our history with nuclear disarmament. Iran supported it, while Israel and the U.S. did not.
January 29th, 2009 at 10:11 pm
If memory serves right, wasn’t big bad evil China one of the main countries pushing one of those resolutions a while back?