Europe can't escape!

[godwulf]

OnyxCougar wrote:

There's a thread somewhere here about how anyone who feels strongly enough about a cause to blow themselves up should be listened to, and negotiatied with.

Unfortunately, the public position of the Bush administration (and I'm not sure but that an administration led by any other current U.S. political leader would be any different in this regard) is that "the terrorists hate America because of our freedom", period. Oh, yeah, and because they're evil. And they're criminals, too - but this is a war, so they're also soldiers. Evil criminal soldiers who hate us because we're free. Next question.

Anybody suggesting that our treatment (by proxy) of the Palestinians, to name just one Middle Eastern policy of mass destruction, might be even a minor factor in their thinking is labeled a traitor, an anti-Semite, and worse.

American citizens, and the citizens of our allies of the month, have lived pretty much out of harm's way until recent years - cushioned from the outrage and resentment emerging from an American foreign policy rooted in lies, intrigue, backstabbing, and blind self-interest. Each of us now has a target painted on his or her back, and it's not there because "we're free".