True Colors - True Friends?

[HARDCORE]

For years, the United States has had some of the best friends that money can buy? And granted, there are those national entities who have displayed genuine camaraderie, but many more have engaged in a relationship of convenience and self-ism.

If you were to examine our true friends, you would note that some of our current allies once held naught but hate and ill will toward our people and our survival. Time, however, has changed or at least mellowed, most of these relationships. Unfortunately, the friendships of yore have also, in a few instances, deteriorated into hostility.

Great Britain was one a foe, as was France, Germany and even Mexico, the latter of which I still have reservations about. Of course, I doubt if North Korea was ever a friend, and Iran, (after the Shah was booted out) has become ever more hostile. With their nuclear ambitions, in fact, they now pose a mortal threat in my opinion!

But what of this new trend of ?America Bashing?? Many of the growing number of nations, who now profess a hatred of our society and our people, have literally sucked us dry many times in times past! And when countries like Venezuela etc. opt to get in on the act, it has to make one wonder if we really have many real friends and allies these days (if ever)? ?Today?s pals - tomorrow?s enemies so to speak??

?In reality (again in my opinion) the only people that we can truly rely upon in troubling times, even this, and ourselves I sometimes wonder about??

VERITAS

[Boats]

Goes to show whoever is in office can often times make the worm turn. I blame Bush for this mess and his crew of cronies. It reminds me much of panic buying. Once you bought it - sometimes you wish you hadn't. They got into something by making bad calls and now the results are such they don't know how to get out us or them out of it.

Leader's they don't always have the greatest smarts.

[SuperScout]

Let's see. Yeh, right, the Iranian government really loved us during the Carter years, the real genesis of the Islamo-Fascism being manifested today. The series of attacks on America and American interests during the '90's is further evidence that this hatred started way back then. The North Koreans have hated us ever since we pushed their criminal asses all the way back to the Yalu River. The French have hated us ever since they realized that they weren't a world power anymore, sometime at the start of the 20th century; this hatred deepened every time we had to bail their spoiled, egocentric asses out of continual brushes with extermination. The Mexicans have hated us ever since we demonstrated that real men could establish an independent Republic, irrespective of an established army; to think that Mexico has ever really been our friend is dillusional.

So the "hate-America" crowd didn't just start - it's been around for decades.

[Boats]

Scout - you are right on every one of those issues - yet here we are still embroiled up to our necks. I feel 9/11 forced our hands true and I agree we had to do something but it seems as each year goes by more and more are turning against us.

There has to be someway to communicate with a better understand - rather than this rhetoric and make sure we have our ducks in row before we take on the world.

Venezuela, Cuba Iraq and Iran are all dirt bags I agree but all of sudden we find ourselves with far less supports for our cause. We can't do battle all fronts. Sniping the leaders may slow it down but others will jump in and take over.

Osama - thats they guy we want and we can find or get him and its been five years. Other's are looking at that saying if they - the little guys - can push us around - well now its our turn the US isn't going to get the support it needs and it will stand alone.

That's where we are at. I'm a proud American and will support our troops and our lands come hell or high water. But Scout when and where does it stop.

[SuperScout]

The major pot-stirrer is the Islamo-Fascism that first crawled out from under the rock back in pre-Israel days in what was then a British controlled Palestine. In that colonial setting, a Jewish terrorist by the name of Menahim Begin set off bombs that killed dozens of British soldiers; other terrorists acts continued until the UN vote that established the new nation of Israel. With that vote in 1948, homes and businesses and land was confiscated, and the former residents, owners and landlords were moved to refugee camps, where their descendants continue living today. It's called Gaza. There was never any restitution or reimbursement for this confiscatory action. Resentment, anger and hatred were now given free rein to grow, fester, and produce wave after wave of suicide bombers, of exported terrorists, and imported sympathizers.

Add to this cauldron of anti-west hatred several firebrand mullahs and self-appointed Islamic spokesmen, and viola, a new brand of Muslim is formed, Wahabi, which preaches the same 13th century fundamentalism that saw the height of Islamic influence. What they new adherent don't realize is that 13th century fundamenalism is incoherent with 21st century progress and civilization, and additional resentments and hatred gets piled on to the other pile because they fundies realize they have nothing better to offer. So rather than competing on the level playing field, the fundies simply slaughter the opposition team, literally. If UBL were to go up in a puff of smoke tomorrow, it would not change one iota of how certain segments of the Musim world thinks about us.

Hugo Chavez is another story. He has realized that it is quite chic to bash America, seeing our attention and resources are directed towards the SW Asia area. Absent that ongoing struggle, we would have had the covert ways and means to challenge is control of the population, and would probably have incited and abetted an internal revolution by now. Dictators like Chavez probably won't last, because he can't continue to suppress the large middle class; since there never was a middle class of any significance in Cuba, Castro had little to fear from that segment.

And finally, I think we need to stop caring what the remainder of the world thinks of us, and start doing anything and everything that is in our best national interests. We have pandered to world opinion for too long, having such numb-nuts at the UN for example as Andrew Young and his supine and continual apologetics for our strength and decency. It will take a long time for our strength, integrity and basic goodwill to overcome the decades of ineffective action.