(I am sure I will take grief for that embarassing error of omission!)

Talk to ya later, Juan.

You know full well that Al Qaeda, which was the terrorist organization responsible for the 9/11 atrocity, was based in Afghanistan and was protected, working hand-in-hand with the Taliban, which is made up primarily of Afghan radical Islamic fundamentalists. The pursuit of justice against Al Qaeda led the U.S. directly to Afghanistan.

I am puzzled by your moral and logical inconsistency by which you argue it is just and morally defensible for Iraqi insurgents to blow up American soldiers because, as you see it, the U.S. did an immoral thing by deposing Saddam Hussein, but it is unacceptable and immoral for the U.S. to go after members of Al Qaeda and the Taliban who were responsible for the 9/11/2001 atrocity.

“Want me to make a list about how many people have died due to actions of these countries and see which has the highest toll?”

Please do, Juan. For if you did so (and did so honestly), you would recognize that your statement that the U.S. has killed more people in the post-World War II era than the Soviet Union, China, Pol Pot’s Cambodia, Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, the communist Eastern Bloc, among others is patently absurd (Although I suspect you know that already and are merely being provocative).

As for your last point, I would indeed not be proud if my country invaded another for reasons of mere economics and opening of markets, unrelated to national security concerns. But as I wrote the other day, that has not occurred with regard to the United States since the end of World War II.

Here is my full answer to you that I posted on Nov. 15 when you posed a similar question:

1) Hmmmmm, Good question, Juan. I would say in the post-World War II-era, yes, the U.S. has been motivated by national security concerns. As for the period between the Spanish-American War amd the beginning of World War II, I make no argument that U.S. excursions into South and Central American countries were always motivated by national security concerns. I would agree with that economic concerns likely prompted many, if not most, of those military actions.

Comment by Exley — November 15, 2006 @ 4:53 pm

Were there afghans in those hijacked planes? I missed that.

No, I dont. But I havent seen my sister being raped by army men. Circumstances are powerful.

Public relations is a huge industry. They’re spending by now something on the order of a billion dollars a year. All along its committment was to controlling the public mind….

…The corporate executive and the guy who cleans the floor all have the same interests. We can all work
together and work for Americanism in harmony, liking each other. That was essentially the message. A
huge amount of effort was put into presenting it. This is, after all, the business community, so they
control the media and have massive resources… Mobilizing community opinion in favor of vapid, empty
concepts like Americanism. Who can be against that? Or, to bring it up to date, “Support our troops.”
Who can be against that? Or yellow ribbons. Who can be against that?… The point of public relations
slogans like “Support our troops” is that they don’t mean anything. They mean as much as whether you
support the people in Iowa. Of course, there was an issue. The issue was, Do you support our policy?
But you don’t want people to think about the issue. That’s the whole point of good propaganda. You
want to create a slogan that nobody’s going to be against, and everybody’s going to be for, because
nobody knows what it means, because it doesn’t mean anything, but its crucial value is that it diverts
your attention….

If thats so, then I agree with you. They are as despicable as US army/navy/air forces that kill civilians. Do you agree? Besides I dont have any moral authority. I never said I possess moral authority. I dont care about that. I care about justice.

claim that the U.S. is the most murderous state in post World War II history, while conveniently ignoring Stalin’s Soviet Union, Mao’s China, Pol Pot’s Cambodia, Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, North Korea.
Comment by Exley

Want me to make a list about how many people have died due to actions of these countries and see which has the highest toll?

See Ex, you see all this through the eyes of emotions, its you first, your coutry, and then the others. That says a lot about your humanity. In 1865, There was a war in South America, where 3 countries: Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay formed the Triple Alliance to fight Paraguay. Paraguay was a protective country, not allowing foreign products to enter so easily. So, Britain, at the time, wasnt very happy. UK financed a war against Paraguay against 3 neighboring countries. The Triple Alliance won 5 years later. Do you think Im proud of my country having invaded a sovereign country for reasons that werent urgent for its national security? Do you think the war against Chile makes me proud or fighting a monster like UK for the Falklands or Islas Malvinas according who you ask their names? Not at all. My government killed thousands of innocent people, fellow citizens that think differently, and I am not supporting that. The thing with you is that your premise is: America is the greatest country in the world. From that on, there is really nothing to argue, because that statement cant be challenged logically.

Those are not the actions of a “freedom fighter,” Juan…That is pure terrorism, deliberately targeting civilians. And each time you fail to condemn or signal that you are even remotely concerned with such deliberate terrorist attacks, you undermine whatever moral authority you claim to possess.

Where did you study that history?

Why is Bush more hated elsewhere in the world than Castro? Why Ernesto Guevara is loved and admired all around the world, but not one marine? Why Europeans said that US poses more threat to the world than Iraq or North Korea? Havent yourself asked those questions? Because of democracy? People would hate canadians also. Nobody is doing that. See, Ex, you have to open your eyes and know that US is the most murdering state since UK.

Hey, Juan C, criticalthinker, BlueDog 49, I guesss these are the actions of the “freedom fighters” you are so proud to support and lionize

Now, I dont know if that was a freedom fighter, but if one of my family was killed by a cluster bomb, a misfired bomb, white phosphorous, you bet Im going to filled my van with gasoline or TNT and blow the invading army or the government that supports the invasion.

Now, what about the 500,000 dead civilians. Are you negating that yet?

“A suicide bomber in the predominantly Shiite city of Hillah south of Baghdad lured men to his Kia minivan with promises of a day’s work as laborers, then blew it up, killing at least 22 and wounding 44, police said.

Within hours, a roadside bomb and two car bombs exploded one after another near a bus station in Mashtal, a mostly Shiite area of southeastern Baghdad, killing 11 and wounding 51, police said.”

Why would I fear words?

Why would I be on a computer all day and not enjoy my happy life?

Do you live your own happy life, or do you stay on the computer all day trying to justify why you have the RIGHT to ruin many Iraqi happy lives to make some Iraqi sad lives better?

Yes some people are SAD in Cuba, just like the people in Katrina were SAD in the United States, so what?

So we should drop bombs and invade Cuba like Iraq to make the sad people happy?

But would not that make the happy people sad?

So we should drop bombs and invade a second time to make the sad people happy, by installing the old government back?

But that would make the supporters of the new government sad, so we should drop bombs and invade a third time to make them happy be installing the new government back?

Why do you think the Iraqi Sadam demands a military solution, while the Cuba Casyto problem does not demand a military solution.

I am not HYPOCRITE so the idea that I have the RIGHT to drop bombs and bring chaos to people who are half way across the world and are no threat to me, is WRONG.

Since you are a HYPOCRITE you believe that you are never WRONG, when it is OBVIOUS to “critial thinking” people, that the leaders and soldiers that started an UNECESSARY war, have committed crimes against humanity and they MUST appear in a court room to answer for their crimes, just like the Nazi’s did, and I was just following orders was not an excuse then and is not an excuse now!

The purpose of the United States military or that of any other nation is to DEFEND the country from other nation’s attacks, and not to change other nations governments!

I know such concepts must be hurting your head right now, but please try to take a moment to THINK and understand why the war in Iraq was not necessary.