C’mon, we live in a global community far more now than we could have imagined just a few decades ago. We all affect each other. There ain’t nothing wrong with having at least a rooting interest in an election where you don’t live, and absolutely ain’t nothing wrong if the election affects you or your own home. Does no Americans have an opinion, or a right to one, on the election of Blair or Sarkozy or Putin? Of course they do, and they’d take offense at being told otherwise.
Yes, there’s an obvious imbalance on this board, but I put the responsibility for that on the non-Americans who disdain to discuss, or perhaps to take a serious interest in, their *own * home politics.
Right to an opinion? Sure. Right to attempt to sway a foreign election? Definitely not.
Blaming America for the actions of your own government is just ridiculous.
Sorry Lobsang… but please keep your fucking nose out of our politics. If you’re really that interested in US politics, come over here and become a citizen.
We can’t keep our noses out of your politics - they’re freakin’ everywhere! All over these boards, all over our news, all over our newspapers, we can’t get away from it. Thank all that’s holy that your stupid candidate election is finally over - that went on for about 100 years. We can have a federal election from being called to being over and the new guy getting sworn in about five times in the space of time it takes you guys to elect your friggin’ candidates!
Wouldn’t that be the fault of your collective media outlets for exposing every micro step of our election process, or the fact that they can’t find anything else to report on? How is that our fault?
If a tiny little country like Israel could hand them their ass in six days, I don’t think we’ll have a problem with them. Those countries are a joke militarily.
If all these countries put their money together and bought some black market biological weapons…?
If all these countries decided to hire the best nuclear scientists in the world by adding a zero to their current salaries and developed nukes of their own…?
If all these countries decided to charge $500 per barrel of oil…$1000?
Maybe they could buy influence in other countries or our own. Maybe they could hire hackers to break into the Pentagon computers. Maybe they could hire the best counterfeiters and screw up our economy.
Money. Big money. I wouldn’t like to give them a cause to use their imagination.
If everyone just stopped buying their damn oil, they’d be living in shacks and huts just like they were before the Western world came and found the oil in their country and designed the machinery to extract it. Those countries were barren shitholes before the oil made them rich.
I think the people of the US need all the friends we can get.
We need the approval of other countries, as I stated above. The first time over there went a lot better. When 34 countries tells a dictator he’s wrong, it’s legitimate and a unified group is much more likely to bring him around. One country, even a powerhouse like the US…maybe you can hold on and outlast that country. Not 34.
We pay for this war. How many $ is the total up to now? Why wouldn’t we gladly let other nations help foot the bill? Terrorism isn’t something that only affects us here.
We don’t just fight a war…we go in and rebuild. With a coalition, it’s less likely to drag on and on (and cost more and more both to fight it and rebuild what we just destroyed). If the other countries are willing to pitch in, super. If not, well, how much work do you want to give Halliburton?
Look at what the Euro is doing to the USD. One reason is that many European countries have unified and are telling us where to get off. E.g. they don’t approve of some of the ingredients we use in cosmetics and they’re telling us, “Change it or you can’t sell it here.” These countries comprise a huge market—they outnumber us. We want that business but we have to dance to their tune.
But it isn’t just money. Politically they can also unify and tell us to go screw ourselves.
They can cooperate and share their intel…or not.
They can let us fly over their airspace…or not.
They can act as diplomatic intermediaries…or not.
The list goes on, I’m sure. IMO too many Americans thought we could do it alone but didn’t stop to wonder if we should. I’m not talking only about the legitimacy of the war, but whether this was really the best, pissing off countries who sympathized with us, declining help…our government was a bull in a china shop. All partisan politics aside: “freedom
fries”? Have you ever heard anything so fucking lame in your entire life? These are the rational human beings we entrust policy to?
I have a sister whose husband is ex-Navy. From time to time she’ll send me an email with photos of the “good guy” troops who are giving the native kids ice cream or rushing a native child to a hospital. I understand why she sends them and I hope their are 10,000 “good guy” troops for every one at Abu Ghraib. But they set my teeth on edge.
Collateral damage is inevitable. Anybody know the number of dead children? How many have been blinded or deafened, or had hands/arms/legs/feet blown off, and so on? Would it surprise anybody if these people raise subsequent generations with nothing but fear of and hatred for us? Al Qaeda could be just a mom and pop operation compared to the future we’re sowing.
I read a quote by Jimmy Carter that said something like, “War may be a necessary evil, but it’s always an evil, never a good. We will never learn to live together in peace by killing each other’s children.” [bold mine] I think that says it all.
In an attempt to end on a positive note, I understand Americans can visit Viet Nam now. That boggles my mind. And, I sure never thought the Berlin Wall would come down but it did. So maybe all is not lost. But let’s stop inflicting damage in a war that can’t be won, huh?
There's a GD thread currently that lead me to believe what you fear in your OP, that McCain is "forked".
Perhaps the left leaning insularity here has prevented hobnobbing with the local Red bloods. They may not like their candidate, and the ship is certainly sinking, but they’re bailing their asses off. There is a lifetime yet 'til the election. New and bigger buckets could arrive.
I’m sorry, but are some people in this thread seriously suggesting that non-Americans are not allowed to voice an opinion about US politics? Even after the last eight years when it has become painfully obvious how much US politics influence the rest of the world, and regardless of how much the US and its citizens try to influence the politics of other nations?
I can’t believe how arrogant and insular an opinion that is. No-one is forcing you to care about what the rest of the world thinks (although maybe you should, you’re not alone in this world no matter how much you’d like to be), but claiming that we don’t even have the right of an opinion…??? Why is it so offensive to some of you that other people might have an opinion in something where we don’t have any influence, but where the outcome is guaranteed to affect us in some way or another?
Particularly considering how often we (The Rest of the World) get to hear variations on the theme “Like it or not, America sets the tone for the rest of the world”. Generally, from Americans.
And, damn it, they’re right. So it makes sense that we care who’s in charge over there… even if we do come from countries with no significant impact or credibility on the world stage. Perhaps more so, for that very reason.
The idea of another run of Republicans in the White House does bother me. I can’t affect the way the US citizenry votes, but I won’t be told that I can’t have an *opinion *on the subject. :dubious:
As others have pointed out, George Bush didn’t take England into Iraq, Tony Blair did. George Bush hasn’t the authority to order a single British private to move a foot to the left.
I will speak my shitty .$02 and then leave this thread.
The reason a Republican will win this time around is because of the media. They focused to strongly on two novelty acts (Hillary and Obama) that more credible and qualified people weren’t even noticed this time around. So, you can thank the US Media for another Bush-esque nominee.
Besides, I don’t think McCain will be that bad for this country anyways. Sure he may stick with the Iraq problem a little longer, but other than that, I think he’s gonna do a great job being presidente’.
