Thoughts from down under

We are hurt and pissed off. I have also been in a daze all day - keep thinking an ex-girlfriend is going to charge into the room with a knife and I'll wake up...

You Aussies are about the best allies we actually have. You and the Brits are really our only true allies.

I hate to ask this, but if we need to hit back at, oh say, Afghanistan, will you lend a hand if we need it? You're our only trustworthy allies in that hemisphere... We'd really appreciate the help right now.

 

Our Prime Minister (John HOWARD ) has said that he will help the Americans any way he can. As many of you know, he was in Washington at the time this tragedy happened.
Bill Clinton has spoken out in the past hour or so that he could always count on support from the Aussies when the United States were in a crisis. It's great to hear that from him. Oh, and he's still in Port Douglas, Queensland. No-one knows when he will be allowed to leave Australia.

That's very true, but our Army is very small, we don't have many fighter jets or ships- but we will most likely get involved.

God bless the Allies.

 

It sounds like treeman and DaDakota are going on a trip.

 

I would think that Germany is also a true ally of the United States.

 

Yep Achebe, someone has to have the balls to protect our country.

DaDakota

 

Go git 'em DaDakota!!! Oh wait, I see your balls are in the wrong place.... oh no. You're just talking out of your ass.

 

...and Canada, Mexico, Japan, S. Korea, Taiwan, Israel, etc. etc.

 

I was reading the feedback column in "The Australian" and about 1/3 of the responses seemed to say "it's sad for the innocents, but the US has caused more grief aggregately than this. They need to change their policy."

Are we really that hated? That even in Australia, a nation with which we share much of a common culture, so many people blame us first?

I concede there are factors that we've done to enable such hatred. But this was evil.. nothing could possibly justify it.

 

did you see how Ian Thorpe was almost in the the WTC? He forgot his camera in his hotel room so he went back to get it. If not for that he would have been in the WTC.

 

Haven,

At least the bombing of that plant in Tunesia was done in the middle of the night so as to minimize civilian damage, unlike the attack 2 days ago which was done to kill the maximum number of people.

Granted 2 wrongs do not make a right, but.....

DaDakota

 

In many ways I can see how some people around the globe see us as terrorists. We bomb a hell of a lot more countries than anyone else.

But, there's one difference. And, I believe it to be 100% true (especially nowadays). That truth is the United States of America does NOT purposefully and knowingly attack civilian targets.

We bomb military installations, we bomb plants, we bomb training facilities, we even have bombed government buildings. All that is true. But, I've yet to see (since at least Vietnam) one single U.S. attack with the purpose of inflicting a human toll.

The people who engage in terrorism against the U.S. rarely do it for purposes other than to gain attention and to kill people.

This is a primal difference: intent.

If the terrorists truly wanted to stop America from sending in missiles, then they should target our missile facilities.

I do understand that the World Trade Center was a central cog in our and the world economy. But, the economical impact would've been the same had this attack been performed at night.

These people that hate the U.S. do hate us for what our government does in their countries. But, it's not as simple as that. They are fed a constant line of anti-American sentiment from the time they are born. They believe we are evil, just as we believe those responsible for this attack are evil. The main difference between Americans and people in countries like Afganistan and Iraq, is the freedom of the press. Our media may not be perfect, but they get a true enough message out there for an intelligent person to form an honest opinion from. We as Americans know to take many stories with a grain of salt. We don't even trust the leaders of the party we most closely feel affiliated with. The people in these countries that hate us do not get to see what life is like here.

I do not blame the people for hating us. I see a similarity to a child raised by a Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan. How can this kid possibly grow up to be a person who accepts people for who they are and not "what" they are? They don't know any better. I blame the fanatical leaders, the Klansmen, if you will.

I think if we can eradicate the fanaticism without harming the general public and open the media to these people without interrupting their main religious and social norms, they will learn to see us as just like them, not as devils.

It's not an easy thing to do. It is more likely impossible.

I sit here and I wish for peace. I wish for all people, all religions, all beliefs and cultures to live together peacefully. But, as I wish this I worry..... I worry because in the Bible, it says the true anti-Christ will bring peace, global peace.

 

Everyone (especially Americans) seems ready to point out how the US screws up, but you rarely hear about our sacrifices for other countries. Maybe it is not seemly for a rich country to dote on its charity, or how it helps friends in need. But be conscious of the fact that if anything bad, whether by man or nature, ever happened to your countries, you could have no better friend than the United States, and receive no better support from any other country. Others mention our 'greed', yet if you are in dire straights, you'll get the shirt off our backs.