To: Tenchusatsu who wrote (178153 ) 11/18/2003 7:27:24 PM From: Road Walker Read Replies (1) | Respond to Ten,No, we are not trying to export anything, other than Western-style democracies and only to replace those regimes we took out. In any case, all we want is their oil and their cooperation. We could care less what their people want to do with their own lives, as long as we're happy in our own paradise. The truth is that they are importing our culture, and that's shocking the conservatives and extremists. Many Arabs equate Western ideals of capitalism with success. They see how Asian nations like Japan, Taiwan, Korea, and even China are adopting those ideals, and they too want a piece of the action. And this is happening even in the midst of our apathy, regardless of our thirst for oil. Right now, if you gave the Middle East the wealth of the United States, they WILL convert the Western world. Look at India, Pakistan, and North Korea if you don't believe that having a nuke changes the whole game. Look at 9/11 if you think you can contain these extremists with the threat of mutual annihilation. Liberals and conservatives here in America are trying to solve this via secular means. Liberals think socialism and appeasement will save the Middle East; conservatives think capitalism and brute force will tame the Middle East. Everyone misses the mark. Though I tend to take the conservative side, I recognize its shortcomings, especially in Iraq, which is why I'm all for an exit strategy that involves the U.N. I'm sure on this you'll agree as well. But I hope I've convinced you that the problem cannot be explained away with the same secular arguments that atheist intellectuals use to explain away Christianity and other religions.
