To: Rollcast... who wrote (15205 ) 12/31/2001 3:29:40 PM From: teevee Read Replies (5) | Respond to of 281500 Rollcast,and (of course) your obvious feelings about the US in general. I am not a US citizen. That happily and fortunately provided me with an education that wasn't as parochial as that received by most Americans, and a perspective that is not distorted by "red, white and blue" tinted glasses. As for Bush's statement, "you are either with us or with the terrorists"...that is so on the terrorist issue, but as for all other issues, I can assure you, as I am not a US citizen, what might be in America's best interest, is not necessarily in my best interest, or my country's and fellow countrymans' best interest either. As the world continues to get smaller, there will be increasingly competative demands on finite food, energy and natural resources, which so far have been cheap, available and mostly consumed by North Americans. For the USA, its very power, security, way of life and high standard of living are dependant upon plentiful, cheap oil, gas, energy, and other commodities. International tensions, strife, conflict and terrorism will probably only increase in the future as people around the world strive for a larger piece of the pie. On another topic, I see Uncle Sam and his preferred suppliers are having troubles with the "just in time manufacturing" system applied so well by the automotive industry. Apparently a shortage of cruise missiles is holding up the invasion of Iraq. The USA turned a blind eye to Saddams' evil doings as long as he was pro-American and ensured the flow of cheap oil to the US homeland. When the dust settles after the Iraq invasion, it will be interesting to see if the US installs yet another dictator who will butcher as many of his own countryman as deemed necessary in order to maintain the flow of cheap oil and any other commodities Iraq may supply to the USA.