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I'm from Europe and I don't know when US offended us? I would never apologize for none of those things if I was an American because there is no reason to.
Do any of you follow the "Doonesbury comic strip" series, which for years now has dealt sensitively and with amazing with American combat soldiers using their exact lingo and slang, and the heroic efforts of a traumatic brain injury to recover and readjust to civilian life.
Yes, the cartoonist Gary Trudeau may be a "Liberal" and an "Atheist" -- but yet he gets awards from veterans organizations for covering a subject that "conservatives" never seem to do as well, and for visiting hospitalized soldiers.
I appreciate it when people are able to do an exercise in self-criticism, however it seems to me it is always the same people who are enlightened enough to do that (mostly people from Anglo-saxon, Democratic countries). But what's the point in doing so if this state of mind is not shared by the rest of the world?
It isn't our place to step in and "fix" what we feel is broken. There is no constitutional justification for preemptive war (Iraq). I disagree that "there was nothing to apologize to Europe or anyone about". Our Congress gave the president a blank check to declare war on Iraq with very little evidence or proof. Our allies and friends abroad asked us to wait. The European media was accurately reporting that there was no evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. By this point, we're all privy to the facts. We have killed Saddam and "liberated" the country. Why do more or less 50,000 troops remain in Iraq? That's not a withdrawl; that's an occupation.
I no longer think the Iraq War was a good idea, but
1: Several European nations were involved. The British in particular have much more to do with what's wrong in Iraq than us as they were the original occupiers of that land after WWI. Iraq partly exists because they merged some Ottoman provinces together.
2: I still think "humanitarian intervention" can be just. Although I now agree I had an unrealistic expectations or understanding of it. Generally it's for those cases where an extreme loss of life is happening, the goal is to end that, and there is a high chance of success. This might mean limiting it to relatively small genocidal nations. Although I'm certainly no fan of Vietnamese Communists their overthrow of the Khmer Rouge was a good thing. I think intervening in Bosnia was on balance good and I think we should have done more for Rwanda. At least used the military to protect those who wished to flee that country.
Quote:
Originally Posted by peppermint
There is no moral justification for the killing of innocent men and women.
A difficulty in this is all war results in the death of innocent life.
Quote:
Originally Posted by peppermint
Before the chest thumping conservatives start hollering that I'm another liberal, I'll state straight up that I am a libertarian/constitutionalist or a constitutionalist/libertarian. I'm not pleased with either political party in this country.
Libertarianism is basically classical liberalism. However I'm also not pleased with either party. The Republicans right now don't seem to be the voice of conservatism so much as Right-wing populism. No one is really about tradition, prudence, frugality, and so forth.
Nothing like a good dose of guilt trip and political correctness. By the way, a lie repeated a thousand times becomes the truth.......................................so no apologies needed!
Don't forget that there's much to be proud of, in regards to our country's actions in recent history (disaster aid, anti-AIDs work, charitable organizations, etc.) but with the good comes the bad. We are not perfect and we should make amends where we make mistakes. To never admit wrongdoing or perform self-examination is to follow in the footsteps of the USSR, China or North Korea.
I'm curious as to what part of the OP is "Politically Correct"? Or is that the new term that gets slapped on any opposing opinions which don't include racial slurs worse than "flea-bitten savages"?
As a veteran and citizen of the USA, on this day of rememberance, I'd like make the following apologies:
To our cousins in Europe: I'm sorry we had a presidential administration that felt it necessary to antagonize, offend, and alienate you, our best friends and most reliable allies. My apologies also to the other nations that offered us compassion and assistance after 9/11, I wish we had been less arrogant towards you.
To the people of Afganistan: I'm sorry our troops were distracted from the job of exterminating the ignorant, flea-bitten savages that have been terrorizing you for the last few decades. If not for Iraq, we would have sent them all to hell within the first year or two. I hope we can see this through in a way that actually does some good for you.
To the people of Iraq: I'm sorry we broke your country, hopefully we'll be able to help you fix it. Maybe, just maybe, you'll end up with something better than the various dictatorships your neighbors are suffering under. I really hope so, because you deserve better than what we've thus far given you.
To our troops in Afganistan: I'm sorry we didn't insist that our government stay focused on the job at hand, and do everything possible to help you execute the mission of wiping out those Taliban vermin once and for all.
To our troops in Iraq: I'm sorry we let them get you into this mess. Hopefully we can get you back home as quickly as possible.
To fundamentalist Muslims and Christians: I'm sorry you're so utterly stupid and unable to think for yourselves, but would you please shut up already so the rest of us can concentrate on maybe making this a halfway decent world to live in?
To common-sensical people everywhere: I'm sorry you've had to witness the various attention whores that are making a mockery of this day by committing hateful, childish gestures like burning Qurons or American flags. As usual, we're surrounded by morons.
Finally, to the victims of 9/11: I'm sorry you died because we as a species still haven't figured out how to live in peace. I love each and every one of you, and I'll never forget you.
PEACE
Feel free to comment, of course.
PS: I volunteer to help my fellow vets whenever I can, and I hope you will, too. When you have time, please contact your local VA facility to find out how you can help the young men and women coming home from Iraq and Afganistan, the elderly veterans in nursing homes, or any vets that are unfortunate enough to be in a homelss shelter or psychiatric facility.
They served us with honor and gave the best of themselves, let's do the same for them.
I as an American do not feel the need to apologize for what this country has done. President Bush did the right thing standing up to islamic extremists. The wars in Iraq and Afganistan were something I thought needed to be done. (although more troops should have been sent right from the start) The dictators of those nations were a threat to us, and after 9-11 we could not tolerate that. I do not care what Europeans thought of how we decided to react to the attack on our land. THey have the right to oppose us, and we have the right to ignore thier protests. As an American I am however thankful to those nations that did assist us like Britain, Poland, and Austraila. I strongly believe that we owe no one in the muslim world any apology for what was done to thier nations as a result of the war. A great many over there supported the attacks on 9-11. Afganistan hosted the terrorists, Iraq also supported them in a lesser way. US troops in Iraq found propeganda supporting the 9-11 attacks, they found terrorist training centers and some chemical weapons. If they suffered because of the defeat they were delt so be it. I feel no more sorry for them then I do the Japanese who lived with the consequences of defeat in 1945. This suffering they (arabs) experienced will help to deter them from attacking the United States again. I am not sorry, in fact I am proud of our military for what they accomplished. Liberals may be sorry for America, obama may be sorry for America but I NEVER will be. God bless the USA.
actions from France and Britain from the late 1800's to 1900's have caused most of the world conflict we see today, for example what France did to Germany after ww1, helped cause ww2 and Hitlers rise to power
^^ Germany had troops in afghan since the start of the war, they just recently pulled out..
Actually the reason that terrorists exist in the first place is because the federal government of the US does stupid things like the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
There are probably 50 to 100 times more terrorists in the world today as compared to how many existed before these wars. So much for Bush's claims of "protecting us from evil". In reality Bush caused threats to the US to multiply exponentially and completely unnecessarily. By starting these wars Bush gave birth to more terrorists than Bin Laden ever could have.
If Joe steals Fred's lunch money, blowing Alice's head off is not a logical solution to the problem - except in the mind of Bush.
If the US decides to overthrow all or even a couple of the world's bad guys the US will soon be bankrupt. Furthermore it is not acceptable for us to arbitrarily decide who is good and who is evil and blow up whoever we think is evil.
We have enough problems of our own. We cannot go on bankrupting ourselves fighting false enemies that exist on the other side of the world and pose little or no real threat to us. It is time for us to solve our own problems, which get larger and larger as we waste our resources on unjustifiable, self defeating wars.
Quote:
Originally Posted by danielj72
I as an American do not feel the need to apologize for what this country has done. President Bush did the right thing standing up to islamic extremists. The wars in Iraq and Afganistan were something I thought needed to be done. (although more troops should have been sent right from the start) The dictators of those nations were a threat to us, and after 9-11 we could not tolerate that. I do not care what Europeans thought of how we decided to react to the attack on our land. THey have the right to oppose us, and we have the right to ignore thier protests. As an American I am however thankful to those nations that did assist us like Britain, Poland, and Austraila. I strongly believe that we owe no one in the muslim world any apology for what was done to thier nations as a result of the war. A great many over there supported the attacks on 9-11. Afganistan hosted the terrorists, Iraq also supported them in a lesser way. US troops in Iraq found propeganda supporting the 9-11 attacks, they found terrorist training centers and some chemical weapons. If they suffered because of the defeat they were delt so be it. I feel no more sorry for them then I do the Japanese who lived with the consequences of defeat in 1945. This suffering they (arabs) experienced will help to deter them from attacking the United States again. I am not sorry, in fact I am proud of our military for what they accomplished. Liberals may be sorry for America, obama may be sorry for America but I NEVER will be. God bless the USA.
I on the other hand will never apologize for being American or presume to offer apologies on behalf of my nation.
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