Is the US crazy????

[SueC]

What I don't get is why we think we need to police the whole world? We've got enough problems at home! I know lots of good, hard-working people that have been laid off with the way the economy is. And that isn't even the worst of our problems. And I honestly don't see how Clinton sleeping around has anything to do with Iraq!

[Rapunzel]

The Clinton reference was something I mentioned in response to Kristen's comments about not trusting world leaders. That topic then became a tangent of the US foreign affairs topic.

On a side note, some of what is happening in the world today IS due in part to previous presidential administrations' policies towards the UN, Iraq, Europe, etc. Remember Madeline Albright (Clinton's foreign affairs go-to)? Some of her principles and practices are in direct play with world affairs at the moment. So, in some ways Clinton's administration actually is quite part of the subject of current events.

BTW Here's a pretty interesting article in the decidedly left-leaning Boston Globe on Central Europe and their attitude towards the United States (which is a bit different from the rhetoric you hear from France and Germany):

The anti-anti-Americans

Central Europeans may be wary of the Bush administration's war plans, but they're not at all wary of the United States

http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/061/f ... ans+.shtml

Excerpt:
''If our security is threatened,'' says Jiri Pehe, a writer and legal scholar who directs New York University in Prague and has worked as an adviser to former Czech president Vaclav Havel, ''we know we can't rely on France or Germany. It has never paid off in our history, quite frankly.''

Ah for the good old days

When most American's minds were preocupied with the state of a certain dress and cigars Wish that's all we were worried about now!!!

Kidding aside, I do share the concern about how our country is progressing towards Iraq. With Afghanistan, a clear reason was presented and international support gathered. The battle was quickly done before troop and public morale was defeated.

Right now I just don't see a compelling reason for invading Iraq RIGHT NOW. Actually, I wish it had been done when we were over there in the first place, and I do think that Saddam is a terrible dictator and should be ousted. But with the state of the world's opinion against invading Iraq, both European and middle Eastern, it seems like this could cause more problems down the line than solutions. If weapons of mass destruction are not imminently being created by Iraq to threaten the US, why do we need to go there right now? And if there is, why is that not being shared with European countries, who are not any safer than we are (and in fact closer)- would think they would want that eliminated too. Why are we not focusing more on eliminating the terrorist network that spans several countries? Changing regimes in Iraq will not eliminate terrorism, because it's not localized in one country. This just seems like it is creating more propaganda fodder for terrorists to use.

And I think my real fear is for the men and women over there in uniform right now. I feel like this is a chess game; Saddam is ruthless and if he knows he's going down, I don't think he will go down alone. There's a lot of nasty tricks that he can come up with. I fear that US casualties can really start rising. If we are asking for that sort of sacrifice I hope that there is more compelling reasons to go to war right now than I can see. Don't want this to turn into another Vietnam.

Well regardless I have the highest respect and support for the troops over there right now. I work at the VA, and as they say, the price of freedom can be seen here. They are doing the job that they have been trained to do,to keep us safe while risking their own lives, and I will always support that regardless of my feelings about the war.