Bob jr, you have a very good point. Nobody holds a corner on saintliness in the world, and to try to stuff the present situation into the mold of "Good Us" vs. "Evil Them" doesn't help anybody except the people who make the bombs. Sure, the U.S. has a lot to be proud of...and also a lot to be ashamed of. One doesn't negate the other.

There are many moderate Muslims all around the world who don't want to destroy the U.S. It would be a great step towards ending terrorism if we helped those moderates gain a voice and power in their respective countries. Unfortunately, those moderates can't speak out because of repressive fundamentalist governments in those countries. But, uh-oh, those repressive fundamentalist governments happen now to be on our side in our war against Afghanistan. Oops, I mean our war against the Taliban. Oops, I mean our war against terrorism. Oops, I mean our war against Osama Bin Laden. Who might be in Colombia for all we know.

I remember when this bombing started, I was relieved to hear that our goal was to "eliminate the air defenses to make it possible to bring humanitarian aid to the people of Afghanistan." Anybody care to count the number of tons of bombs dropped compared with the number of pounds of food? Proposals to stop the bombing during Ramadan and allow aid teams to enter the country have not been kindly received by our leaders. Sorry, folks, I don't believe anything "our leaders" say any more.

I think that the United States is a wonderful country. I'm grateful to be living here. I'm proud of everything Americans have done and are doing to make the world a better place.

And I also think think that some people in the military and some big corporations and some politicians are trying taking advantage of this situation to try to turn America into a monster, for the sake of their own greed and their own power, against America's heritage of freedom, and against the REAL will of the American people. That's my view, anyway.

Aloha,
Mark