On Fri, 14 Sep 2001, Barney Wolff wrote:
In the long run Islam will have to purge itself of its Crusaders, just as other religions largely have. The war is not against Islam but against a set of murderous fanatics, and it would be foolish indeed NOT to hate them.
Remember, the rise of the fundamentalist Muslim "crusader" was a direct reaction from the formerly "modern" _despots_ put in place, and maintained in place, by the U.S. The Shah used his people as a playground for the secret police. Dozens of other countires have been in the same position. The one thing MANY of these now "fundamentalist" countries share in common is a long history of extreme conditions which were put in place by, and supported by, the "peace loving citizens of the United States". Bah. The crusaders could never have come to power if we had acted like HUMAN BEINGS. Or even less, if we had just practiced what we preached. -- Yours, J.A. Terranson sysadmin@mfn.org If Governments really want us to behave like civilized human beings, they should give serious consideration towards setting a better example: Ruling by force, rather than consensus; the unrestrained application of unjust laws (which the victim-populations were never allowed input on in the first place); the State policy of justice only for the rich and elected; the intentional abuse and occassionally destruction of entire populations merely to distract an already apathetic and numb electorate... This type of demogoguery must surely wipe out the fascist United States as surely as it wiped out the fascist Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The views expressed here are mine, and NOT those of my employers, associates, or others. Besides, if it *were* the opinion of all of those people, I doubt there would be a problem to bitch about in the first place... --------------------------------------------------------------------