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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: MSI who wrote (258886)	5/27/2002 5:15:27 PM
From: Neocon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

The Roman Empire did not fall because it was overextended, and certainly it never ventured beyond Western Europe, the Balkans, North Africa, and Asia Minor. It fell because it would not fight its own battles, but protected its borders from barbarian incursion through a combination of tribute and the hiring of mercenaries, generally semi- civilized Germans who lived near the borders. It fell, also, because of a system of tax farming which encouraged exploitation, and inhibited enterprise. Finally, it fell because the leaders of the Empire became more concerned with court intrigue and hedonism than with honest administration and the fulfillment of duty. Ironically, Theodoric the Ostrogoth, who finally brought the Western Empire to an end, started to march on Rome due to a pay dispute with the Emperor. He was so in awe of Roman achievements that he refused to claim the title of Emperor, and allowed the Senate a sort of shadowy, honorary existence. Don't forget, though, that the Eastern Empire lasted until the fall of Constantinople in the 15th century, after a few centuries of incursions by Arabs and Turks. The Ottoman Turks finally dealt the death blow, and, again, decadence within had something to do with the inability to resist. Nevertheless, the Roman Empire existed, in one form or another, for about 15 centuries, and if one includes the Republic, Rome lived for a couple of millennia. Not bad.......

To: MSI who wrote (258886)	5/28/2002 5:18:22 PM
From: haqihana	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

MSI, Perhaps we are not doing all we can do to punish the terrorists for 9/11, and continuing activities, but at least something has been done, and we are not letting our guard down, even though there seems to be a problem in finding qualified people to maintain the required degree af alertness. The Clinton administration had several opportunities to eliminate Bin Laden, and for politically correct reasons, did nothing. Had Bin Laden been arrested when the opportunity presented itself, there probably would not have been an attack on the twin towers. Doing something, regardless how lacking, is better than doing nothing.