I absolutely do not mean to in any way sound like I'm justifying the attack on the World Trade Center. I think it was a horrible thing, and I agree with you that those people with grievences should not be targeting civilians. Nonetheless, talking about what Asama Bin laden, or whoever it was that organized the attack SHOULD be doing isn't very helpful. My point in blaming the US is that most of the anti-US sentiment in existance is a result of the crimes of this country's rulers. Because the US does act as an economical and military bully to most of the world, reactionary and murderous people such as Asama can draw support for themselves just by being anti-American. The wars, the sanctions, the funding of dictators...these are staple practices of the US governement's foreign policy, staple policies of a democratically elected government. The more Americans that elect leaders that strive to maintain economical and military hegmony over other countries at the expense of those countries' populations, the more justifed will attacks on US civilians look to those people oppressed by the US.
Lets look at Iraq. The Iraqi people have been all around beaten up by the US for years: first the gulf war, then 10 or so years of sanctions which mostly hurt the Iraqi people, along with periodical bombings by the Clinton administration, and finally the current war and occupation. Saddam Hussein wasn't "better" in any way for the Iraqi people, but he actually hurt them much less than the US. For the more oppressed and impoverished people in Iraq, those that realize that the US government is to blame for a good portion of their woe, the average American has got to look like the enemy, because they consistently elect murderers. This means that if there a
that if there are possibilities for attacking American civilians, those possibilities are likely to be fulfilled with the sympathy of many. I am not arguing from a moral perspective, but rather just trying to point out the reaity of the situation.
The only real way to reconcile those millions of people oppressed by the US with the American workers is to have these American workers struggle to change US foreign policy, and begin to champion the goals and desires of the world's poor and oppressed. This doesn't mean that there won't be ANY people still trying to arbitrarily kill American civilians, but those people will have a much much harder time doing so.
My point in blaming the US is that most of the anti-US sentiment in existance is a result of the crimes of this country's rulers. Because the US does act as an economical and military bully to most of the world, reactionary and murderous people such as Asama can draw support for themselves just by being anti-American. The wars, the sanctions, the funding of dictators...these are staple practices of the US governement's foreign policy, staple policies of a democratically elected government. The more Americans that elect leaders that strive to maintain economical and military hegmony over other countries at the expense of those countries' populations, the more justifed will attacks on US civilians look to those people oppressed by the US.
Lets look at Iraq. The Iraqi people have been all around beaten up by the US for years: first the gulf war, then 10 or so years of sanctions which mostly hurt the Iraqi people, along with periodical bombings by the Clinton administration, and finally the current war and occupation. Saddam Hussein wasn't "better" in any way for the Iraqi people, but he actually hurt them much less than the US. For the more oppressed and impoverished people in Iraq, those that realize that the US government is to blame for a good portion of their woe, the average American has got to look like the enemy, because they consistently elect murderers. This means that if there a
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The only real way to reconcile those millions of people oppressed by the US with the American workers is to have these American workers struggle to change US foreign policy, and begin to champion the goals and desires of the world's poor and oppressed. This doesn't mean that there won't be ANY people still trying to arbitrarily kill American civilians, but those people will have a much much harder time doing so.
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