[thechat] US Elections

seb potter seb at getfrank.com
Thu Nov 7 19:50:05 CST 2002


> Or neutral. Of course it's a choice. But don't harbor, condone
> or support terrorism and then want to be neutral or left alone,
> and think that there won't be consequences. That doesn't work.


Oh Hugh.

Let's examine the actions of the single country that has done most to
support and encourage acts of terrorism over the last 50 years, shall
we? Remember, this nation has poured more money into financing
terrorists than any other nation or organisation in recorded history.

In the 1980s, this nation poured arms, aid, and finance into Iraq,
supporting Saddam Hussein and encouraging him to invade and overthrow
the Iranian regime, considered at that time to be the single largest
threat to the Persian Gulf. (Historical note: Persia = Iran.)

This nation directly funded Iraq's initial forays into the development
of chemical and biological agents. When Iraq did invade Iran, and due to
some astonishingly bad military leadership on the part of Saddam, looked
like losing, this nation began to hedge its bets by funding and
supplying arms to Iran as well.

Similarly in the 1980s, this nation funded the Mujahedin ( and later the
Taleban ) to act as guerilla fighters engaged in a war of attrition
against Soviet forces in Afghansitan. In doing so, this nation became
the largest sponsor of terrorist forces in the world. Ever. When this
nation began to suspect that its tactics were failing, and threatened
the withdrawal of funds, much of the finance was diverted to the
cultivation of the world's largest supply of Opium poppies. For a
considerable amount of time, this nation was financing the production of
heroin on an incomparable scale, enough to fund further activities by
the Taleban for decades.

Rather unsurprisingly, this nation's duplicitous actions, coincidentally
centered around its two major oil supply lines, backfired
catastrophically, creating an enemy that it has just defeated, and one
that it now calls the greatest threat to western civilisation.

In French, this is rather poetically:

Qui seme le vent recolte la tempete.


Now, there is no denying that Saddam does indeed pose a great threat to
anyone who cares to pick a fight with him. He has demonstrated this on
at least three occasions where he has used chemical weapons against his
own population. I honestly hope that America does not wage war on Iraq,
because of the tremendous loss of life that desperate acts on his part
could entail. However, America should not be looking to symptoms now.
It's to late for that.

Yes, I am sure that the majority of Americans are unaware of their
country's historical actions. I am also sure that the majority would not
support such actions.

But really, do the vast majority care enough to get off their arses and
find out?



I like America. Actually, I really like America. I hope to settle in
California someday in the not too-distant future.

It's just that I totally despise American politics, and the apparent
lack of interest displayed by American citizens in their country's
actions outside its own borders.



seb.

--
seb potter
http://poked.org - It's what you value.



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