Quote:I'm not sure poking points of how badly Europe has handled things changes one wit the way that the present U.S. government has handled things. Nor do I want to one moment suggest that there is anything great about Europe or their intentions in the world.
The reason Occhi does that is to express why we have little to no regard for foreign opinions on our candidates or policies at large. We look across the pond to see economic inferiority and incapability to deal with serious issues so the criticism might as well come from Big Bird than Jacques Chirac. We're familiar with handling our own affairs despite European criticism so the "how can anyone like Bush" comments are heard as nothing more than selfish, biased noise.
Quote:However one could I believe equally argue that there are many many examples of where and how the U.S. has completely bungled the operation terribly or choose not to use a velvet glove but a massive hammer too.
Perhaps. But by in large, Americans focus on results and when the velvet glove looks to be preventing results, we have historically had little problem dispensing with it. Whether rightly or wrongly, Americans have the perception that Europeans are all talk, no walk. We're little talk, all walk. It's who we are and I have no intention in apologizing for it.
Quote:The rest of the world should not care who is the next U.S. president but sadly it matters perhaps more than you or I would like. (Too much power is well... just too much for us lowly humans to handle)
I apologize in advance if I misunderstand what you are saying. I understand why the world watches our elections and worries about them and no one really has a problem with that. Nor do we mind that you discuss it amongst yourselves. We personally just don't care to hear about it.
As for the statement that we have too much power to handle, I would be insulted if I didn't know that it is rooted in a general misunderstanding of the US and European historical fear of superpowers. Given the relationship you've had with them in the past, usually leaving you bleeding, I respect the fear. However, if you were right, if the power was too much to handle, and we surely have it currently, why haven't we used it to the extent superpowers have in the past? To use the popular Iraq myth, we have routine oil shortages and rises in gas prices every summer due to consumption and OPEC production. During these times, we've had troops in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and now Iraq. If we were the superpowers of old, we could have claimed "victory", seized the oil, and solved the problem. But we haven't and wouldn't. I don't expect you to understand why other than this explaination:
We are Americans, proud and free.
Quote:When on the surface it appears that the U.S. has unilaterally decided the fate of a soverign state (regardless of who is there or incharge) what is there to suggest that spurious and possible fake facts can be made up to make a strong case for the U.S. from just invading everyone they feel needs to be invaded. If you don't think that is destablizing. Have a second thought. There are many nations that saw the invasion of Iraq as being something more scary than we've ever experienced before.Â
If either of our candidates has any political sense, we'll be debating this heavily and rightfully so. So rest assured, we're going to have a second thought and a third, fourth, and fifth. It's what we do :).
As for nations being scared of our invasion of Iraq, may I ask which nations? Germany and France does not a world make. This is going to be a rude question but I shall ask anyway. When haven't these nations been viscerally scared? I recall the build-up to the Afghan war hearing talks of "quagmire" and "instability" and so do many of my countrymen. As Libya has shown, other countries becoming scared usually is a boon for us, not a bane.
Quote:How is it that Bush could change the world's opinion of his country in less than a year from Universal sympathy for your losses in that terrible disaster at the WTC into univeral condemnation for actions that were unprecidented and with out apparent substance.
That the world never had it. Losing support is understandable, sympathy, if honestly felt, would have been impossible.
By the way, do you have any empirical data for these "universal" comments? I suspect you're experiencing a large case of myopia by the area you live in and the circle you speak with.
Quote:(What does this say about what could be next on the adjenda... where will his gaze fall next)... Doesn't this possibility make you shudder?
It makes me comforted. While we gaze, our enemies can not gaze back. Lybia, Iran, North Korea to name a few along with dissidents in various countries that the leaders there are incapable or unwilling to control.
What would make me shudder is when other countries stop.
Quote:I'd say that you may want to consider seriously about where you want your country to go in the future and looked at in the history books.
Answer me honestly, please. How did we look in those books before Iraq? In Hiroshima? Cold War? Korea? Vietnam? 90's?
Quote:I've been quite rightly shown some of the correct and good things that the U.S. has done for the world. Shouldn't that continue? Wouldn't choosing an different person to lead your country give you momentum to changing what appears a direction of distruction to one of building again?
I wasn't aware the good Americans have caused had stopped.
Who is responsible for bettering trade across the world by exporting goods most countries can't make and importing goods that most countries desperatly need to sell?
Who has been trying to reduce AIDS in Africa? Who helped earthquake victims in Bam, Iran? Who's trying to rebuild and free Afghanistan and Iraq? Who is responsible for crippling and seeking to destroy the organization that has declared open war on civilians of not just the United States but Great Britain, France, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Turkey, Israel, Kuwait, Italy, Spain, Australia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, the Red Cross, and even the vaunted United Nations, among billions more that would be facing inevitable annhilation should the United States with the *support* of many of the nations I just listed choose not to act?
The question isn't why aren't Americans shuddering. The question is "Why did you stop?"