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Originally Posted by Riddil
Anyhow, the muslims will learn. They'll catch on to the absurdity of extremism... eventually. The problem that the western world is having is that we expect the Middle East to suddenly wake up and join the modern world. They *can't*. Culture doesn't just change overnight.
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Unfortunately, what the Muslim world is learning is that those comics and George Jr's 'preemption policies' are, to them, part of an attack on Islam. More amazing is how many Americans deny that Muslims have this opinion.
Don't fool yourself for one minute. The United States will eventually attack Iran. Iran knows it which is why they are building nuclear bombs as fast as they can. Islamic people suspect (or know because radical Inman preach it) that the United States will continue to force changes on their society - against their will. George Jr has all but said we will force democracy on those people. Do you think for one minute that these people will welcome anything associated with George Jr? Of course not. Democracy only happens when people first want it. Democracy fails when it is forced upon those people. Need we cite Haiti as a prime example? Or Vietnam? Need we also know how many American policies were changed by George Jr to Israel's advantage with preceived contempt of the PLO?
You may view reform and enlightenment as something that Muslims will eventually learn. I see a slowly growing instability that includes possible nuclear war - complete with radical factors on both side that foster hate. All this was completely avoidable had we stayed with a fundamentally simple and well proven concept called containment. In containment, the local powers fight among themselves to eventually learn god's laws (called science - not called religion). Because of containment, the United States was once highly regarded by 70% of the world. Those people must earn, appreciate, and demand better government (maybe democracy). This cannot happen when preemption forces it upon them. Instead, western powers under pressure from George Jr are slowly coalescing a Muslim hate of westerners. Do you think for one momemt that Iraqis welcome Americans in Iraq? Only the naive preach that lie.
It is a well proven lesson of history. Democracy cannot be imposed. Furthermore, if we try to impose our ways on others - called preemption - those others may instead unite to oppose us. Norwegian troops in Afghanistan were just attacked yesterday over this event. Syrians went on the march attempting to firebomb the Danish embassy. Western embassies in Tehran were attacked. A flurry of right wing Islamic bills that once had little chance of becoming law will probably become law this month in Indonesia. Due to George Jr's righteous preemption policies, then the enemies of logical (secular) thought are uniting. And yes, all this is even making bin Laden look more popular even to some intellectuals. Based upon America's actions this past six years, what bin Laden said has more credibility. United against the comics are chants that include references against George Jr - and against a nation that was once viewed with honor and respect by 70% of the world.
Remember, Iran was once a country with a large reform movement - to remove the burden of Islamic fundamentalism. George Jr almost single handedly destroyed that movement with his myopic 'axis of evil' speech. Did you see how dangerous that speech was when he made it? It not, then ask yourself how many other lessons of history were not comprehended. George Jr all but declared war upon the Iranian people- it should have been that obvious back then to educated Americans. Those comics are but another little piece of a big puzzle that will become religious inspired wars.
And you thought we learned from history - the Thirty Years War, Arab-Israeli conflicts, the Crusades. Apparently not. Once religion becomes anything more than a relationship between one and his god, then hate and violence is promoted by all sides. The United States literally Pearl Harbored another nation - and yet many Americans still don't call that evil or wrong? Just another fact that suggests things will only get worse. Then too many on both sides will start thinking more like Urbane Guerrilla. It will then take massive death and destruction to restore sanity.