In a message dated 1/28/07 6:09:06 P.M. Central Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Wrong, I never said anybody had to be grateful to us for spending our money > there or giving aid,
That was the implication in context--that they were wrong to hate us because we were giving them all this money. but your premise that they hate us because we prop up > their corrupt governments is wrong. The main reason for animosity for the > United States in the middle east is our defense of Israel. That's another reason. It's all of a piece, along with our occupation of Iraq. That's why it's so easy for terrorists to recruit members. Muslims are hell bent > on the destruction of Israel and return of that land to Muslims. Anybody that > gets in the way and prevents that, is causing them a great deal of > frustration and anger. Many of the governments in that region have learned to deal > with it and accept our position, but they keep their populations anger and > frustration focused on American support of Israel as a diversion for what they > aren't providing for their own people. > What I said was in response to jflanegi's statement that "it's odd that they are seen as hate-filled fanatics and yet it is we in the US that brought Hell to their countries." My response was."What countries do you speak of that we brought hell to? Afghanistan, or Iraq?Hell was already there long before we set foot there. The rest of the middle eastern countries, we have just poured billions of dollars into either in aid or for oil." I basically attacked jflanig's premise that we introduced hell to the middle east. That region of the world has been a hell hole for generations and not the fault of the US. If anything, we have done more than anybody to make their lives better by pouring billions of dollars into their countries either through trade or by aid and to blame their misery on the US is BS.< Yet, Judy you say they hate us because we prop up their corrupt governments. I doubt anybody in the middle east would say Saddam wasn't at least near the top of the list on corruption and while the United States may have used him to keep Iran in check, we also removed him and made an effort to give the Iraqi's a new constitution that they wrote and ratified and a government that they elected. The primary reason for terrorism in Iraq is Iraqi Baathist wanting to regain control and foreign terrorists who have absolutely no interest in Iraq or Iraqi suffering but, want to kill Americans for their support of Israel. The idea being, if you drive American troops from Iraq , you can probably drive them out of the region altogether making the ultimate goal of destroying Israel easier and maybe even western Europe. Remember Islamic terrorism is fueled by religious hatred for Jews and those that support them, not hatred for their own corrupt governments.
