You know Charlkie, in the 1800's Israel was not even poulated to any
great extent. That happened in this century. And you are right; to my
knowledge, there never has been a democracy in the Middle East and I
doubt there will ever be one either. Ever get the feeling that Bush
would like to be thought of as MacArthur was after he rebuilt Japan?
He is in for a big surprise; we should appoint a gov't, arm them and
get the heck out before we see Viet Nam all over again. Those folks
will turn on you in a minute; it is part of their culture. There ARE
some good people but most have to worry about surviving. I enjoyed
much Arab hospitality but I was always aware that their mood/feelings
could and would change in a split second. We should not cram our gov't
down their throats; it won't work. Look at all the problems Russia is
having as they attempt to change; wonder if they will make it?



On 16 Nov 2003 19:26:37 GMT, otforme (Charlie Self)
wrote:

Doug Winterburn writes:

we pack up and leave now, I see 9/11 as only a warm up, and the mid east
situation going even further out of control (if that is possible). The
argument that mid east Muslim nations are incapable of some form of
democratic government displays no confidence in democracy itself, let
alone the sterotypeing of all the people of those nations.

Democracy needs no confidence. It does need a fertile breeding ground,
something that has not ever existed in most areas of the Middle East. Possibly
Israel, but elsewhere, forget it. If that's stereotyping, then let's
stereotype. These people are essentially living in the Middle Ages still,
except for a few mod cons. Their concepts of freedom differ from ours--for the
most part, they want to be free to impose their beliefs on everyone else. All
the rest of our freedoms don't take a backseat, really: the don't even get in
the vehicle.

Democracy needs a background of some sort. That background has never existed in
Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia and similar spots. I won't say it never will, but I
sure don't expect to live to see it, and I am inclined to doubt my grandkids
will.

Saddass did a job of keeping most terrorists out of his area, for no reason
other than that they seemed to pose a threat to him. Saudi Arabia supplied by
far the greatest majority of the 9/11 terrorist types.

Somehow, I don't see any logic. Go into a ****ant country where the biggest
threat was the mouth wind created by the dictator, and leave more dangerous
areas alone. Or, maybe, I do see the logic. It looked fast and easy.

Charlie Self
"I hope our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us, that the less we use
our power the greater it will be." Thomas Jefferson