A foreign policy discussion, hmmm? Time for me to get back into the fray here. Again, I appreciate the level of maturity and intelligence you people seem to show (as opposed to other boards such as the one Crusader and jmillion mentioned above). A bit of healthy venting, but none of that mindless "kick Saddam's ass" or "bomb all the A-rabs" nonsense I've been hearing from other idiots in this country. Being a person of mixed national origin, or "mutt" to be politically incorrect (my dad's side of the family hails from India, while my mom's is of mostly English and Scotish descent), I don't condone racism or othe forms of bigotry. In fact, I don't think that sort of thing is in any of our best interests, as our views and musical tastes kind of make us outsideres already. We don't need to give society a more legitimate reason to reject us.
Having said that, however, I can understand the frustration that our friend Twisted Tony has expressed regarding people form Arabic countries. My dad grew up in India when the country was being split into India and Pakistan, and he has never had kind things to say about Pakistan (which is an Islamic country... India is not), particularly regarding their treatment of women. His attitude was enforced by an extended visit to Saudi Arabia in the 1970's. He told me several times of an incident when he was travelling with an American woman who worked for the same company he did. While getting ready to ride off to a meeting, the woman got into the back seat of a taxi cab. Not thinking anything of it, my dad followed her into the back, only to be told that he better get in the front seat. When he asked why, he was told that if they were seen together in public, they would probably be arrested. Just for sitting together!
The problem in this incident (and the problem with the Middle East as a whole) is the same problem we have in the ol' Bible Belt: fanatical religious fundamentalism. An it is not the religions themselves that are the problem (every religion I have encountered, including Islam, is basically peaceloving, and does not condone massive, bloody wars), but a bunch of self-righteuos, self-serving nutjobs twisting the "gospel" of their religion to fit their agenda.
So, I think we westerners should let all the sick, brutal craziness that goes on in the Middle East be a cautionary lesson to us all: This is what happens when you let religious right-wing extremists take over your country!
Having said that, however, I can understand the frustration that our friend Twisted Tony has expressed regarding people form Arabic countries. My dad grew up in India when the country was being split into India and Pakistan, and he has never had kind things to say about Pakistan (which is an Islamic country... India is not), particularly regarding their treatment of women. His attitude was enforced by an extended visit to Saudi Arabia in the 1970's. He told me several times of an incident when he was travelling with an American woman who worked for the same company he did. While getting ready to ride off to a meeting, the woman got into the back seat of a taxi cab. Not thinking anything of it, my dad followed her into the back, only to be told that he better get in the front seat. When he asked why, he was told that if they were seen together in public, they would probably be arrested. Just for sitting together!
The problem in this incident (and the problem with the Middle East as a whole) is the same problem we have in the ol' Bible Belt: fanatical religious fundamentalism. An it is not the religions themselves that are the problem (every religion I have encountered, including Islam, is basically peaceloving, and does not condone massive, bloody wars), but a bunch of self-righteuos, self-serving nutjobs twisting the "gospel" of their religion to fit their agenda.
So, I think we westerners should let all the sick, brutal craziness that goes on in the Middle East be a cautionary lesson to us all: This is what happens when you let religious right-wing extremists take over your country!
Whoa!!! Looks like you're not the only one going off on a tangent, Tony! I just remembered: the topic here is supposed to be Bush, so here's a lovely little update on Dubyah for your ralphing pleasure. The Bush regime... oops, I mean administration.... 
is working on a contraversial plan to "rebuild" Iraq, after the war is over. Bush is apparently giving preferencial bidding previleges on the project to certain companies (surprise, surprise! 
), excluding non-American companies from the bidding process. And wait..... here's the best part....Are you ready? Guess who is one of the first organizations to be let in on this sweet deal? Habitat for Humanity? Nope. Amnesty International? Not on your life, hippie! Nope, it's the wonderful, caring folks at................................. 
