Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ilaine who wrote (7481)	10/25/2001 7:26:35 AM
From: Ilaine	Respond to of 281500

>>Naming of Hijackers as Saudis May Further Erode Ties to U.S.<< nytimes.com Fifteen of the 19 were Saudis . . . .

To: Ilaine who wrote (7481)	10/25/2001 7:51:18 AM
From: Bilow	Respond to of 281500

Hi CobaltBlue; Re elites &c. I don't mean to use "elites" as a pejorative term. What I mean to imply is that power is concentrated in the hands of a relatively small number of people. The context of my using this term is U.S. application of force against the governments of other countries (as a part of our foreign policy), I'm not trying to give a "moral" or "immoral" description of our own form of government or of theirs. I'm trying to be dispassionate and realistic. The question is can we use force to coerce foreign governments? In particular, can we use force to get them to do things that their own people do not wish? If it is true that Islamic fundamentalists are as popular as is believed by some of the posters here, this question is central to our foreign policy all through the Middle East. I don't mean to agree with the premise that our war in Afghanistan is wildly unpopular in the Middle East. If we were so unpopular how come I'm not reading about suicide bombers all over the world blowing up McDonalds and U.S. embassies? Have our embassies and the embassies of our allies been burned down all over the Middle East but our government isn't reporting it on the news? No! So I reject the rabble rousers who claim that the Islamic world is satanic and out of control. What I'm trying to say is that even if this widespread hatred were true we still would have the ability to force those governments to our will by threatening their rulers, and their ruling classes. This is an unpleasant fact of realpolitic that has been constant throughout history and, undoubtedly, prehistory as well. Leaders often are forced by external conditions to make decisions that their people are wildly unpopular about. This is not something that democracies are shy about doing, either. Here's a couple examples of agreements that democracies forced leaders of weak nations to accept despite strong popular resentment: yale.edu yale.edu -- Carl