I think facts do matter. I know that perception is oftentimes mistake for reality, however. I believe that Bush used that unfortunate language of the crusades one time and it thereafter vanished. We are not slaughtering Muslims around the world in a crusade of any type. That fact cannot be argued with. So they feed off of those feellings; they are going to feed off of something to keep their maniacal ways focused. Are you implying that if we backed off Al Quaeda would just go quietly into the night? Ah, isolationism.
Like invading and occupying two Muslim countries or plunking down a Jewish country in the holiest land in Islam?
Man, I canNOT believe that before now I haven't taken a moment to read this thread. I have to say that this competes strongly for my fave ever quotation from Yosemite Slammer. The others I'd say are poverty is a mental disorder and the indigent should not be able to vote. Those two above mentioned points of view are sadly enough fairly predictable. But how was I to know that Pappy could get all Foggy Bottom on us? Al Qaida is running a sophisticated, Beltway-worthy disinformation campaign! Brilliant! These are people who couldn't fly a single engine Cessna, whose attack weapon of choice is a box cutter, who can't blow up a train without leaving behind a ruksack with a cell phone and a calling card, yet they are able to dupe the likes of Fox News?! These guys are sneaky!
No, I made it quite clear what I was implying. I was implying (actually, I said explicitly) that Bush and his crusading attitude (and diction) is exactly what Al Qaeda wants, and has engendered sympathy for Al Qaeda in the Muslim world. Those two facts have not been refuted by you, and probably cannot be as they are pretty much irrefutable. Take whatever implications from that that you want.
You made clear what you were saying explicitly, and I don't refute them because I don't necessarily disagree with them. I can certainly imagine that AQ is looking for a fight-- afterall their modus operandi is suicide murder. Something wrong in the head there. I'm not as concerned about our temporary reputation in the Muslim world when it is largely based on AQ and/or al Jazeera propoganda. Time will have a way of improving that if the US does the right thing by Iraq. You still have not clarified what you were implying: would Al Qaeda go away without this confrontational President? Seems that the criticism of President Bush is that he was anything but confrontational before 9/11 (he backed off Al Qaeda according to Clarke)... and Al Qaeda attacked us anyway. Sounds like psychopaths just looking for a fight. Unlike the Iranians who let the hostages go just minutes into Reagan's presidency, AQ had waited until the eighth month of President Bush's administration before pulling their attack. I find no meaning in the timing of the event. Ah, isolationism. Did anybody see Joan Baez on CBS Sunday morning? She said something very profound and she said it almost thirty years ago. It still seems applicable. Paraphrasing Joan Baez: <b>I think this country is in some kind of adolescent frame of mind where we feel like the world's business is our business and we have to go everywhere and fix everything--- that's just not so.</b> I've never been a Joan Baez fan before, but that comment was dramatically insightful. Of course, she was talking about Viet Nam.
