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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: combjelly who wrote (380831)	4/27/2008 5:11:46 PM
From: i-node	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1574005

I was replying to this line in your post. I think you have "technically" named one, but you and I both know that in principle, we basically OWN Gitmo. While we're making monthly lease payments (even though Cuba isn't cashing the checks), the lease extends into perpetuity and there is zero percent chance of us giving up that piece of property; so, in substance, that property is pretty close to being the property of the federal government. I don't think most people, including the Cuban government, really think of it as part of Cuba as much as it is an extension of America. At any rate, my point was that typically, we are in these countries at the invitation of the governments involved because not only do we benefit from having the bases there, but the host government benefits. I think it always makes sense to evaluate whether there are bases that we could do without, and I have no doubt there are some. But the 800 bases figure way, way, way overstates the situation -- most of these "bases" are nothing like most of us envision as a "military base". Given that bin Laden gave our base in SA as the reason for 9/11, it is something that should be examined. I don't know that bin Laden ever said that -- he says a lot of stuff, much of which is BS that meets his needs on the day he says it. I do know that in the videotape of October, 2004 -- where HE said he was setting out the reasons for the 9/11 attack, he did not mention our presence in SA as a reason. Bin Laden's OFFICIAL reasoning for 9/11 was as follows. And it is clear he is NOT focused on our bases, where ever they are located. In fact, the one thing that is most clear is that he literally dodges the issue as to the reason for the hatred toward America. =========================================== We fought with you because we are free, and we don't put up with transgressions. We want to reclaim our nation. As you spoil our security, we will do so to you. I wonder about you. Although we are ushering the fourth year after 9/11, Bush is still exercising confusion and misleading you and not telling you the true reason. Therefore, the motivations are still there for what happened to be repeated. And I will talk to you about the reason for those events, and I will be honest with you about the moments the decision was made so that you can ponder. And I tell you, God only knows, that we never had the intentions to destroy the towers. But after the injustice was so much and we saw transgressions and the coalition between Americans and the Israelis against our people in Palestine and Lebanon, it occurred to my mind that we deal with the towers. And these special events that directly and personally affected me go back to 1982 and what happened when America gave permission for Israel to invade Lebanon. And assistance was given by the American sixth fleet. During those crucial moments, my mind was thinking about many things that are hard to describe. But they produced a feeling to refuse and reject injustice, and I had determination to punish the transgressors. And as I was looking at those towers that were destroyed in Lebanon, it occurred to me that we have to punish the transgressor with the same -- and that we had to destroy the towers in America so that they taste what we tasted, and they stop killing our women and children. We found no difficulties in dealing with the Bush administration, because of the similarities of that administration and the regimes in our countries, half of which are run by the military and half of which are run by monarchs. And our experience is vast with them. And those two kinds are full of arrogance and taking money illegally. The resemblance started when [former President George H.W.] Bush, the father, visited the area, when some of our own were impressed by America and were hoping that the visits would affect and influence our countries. Then, what happened was that he was impressed by the monarchies and the military regimes, and he was jealous of them staying in power for tens of years, embezzling the public money without any accountability. And he moved the tyranny and suppression of freedom to his own country, and they called it the Patriot Act, under the disguise of fighting terrorism. And Bush, the father, found it good to install his children as governors and leaders. We agreed with the leader of the group, Mohammed Atta, to perform all attacks within 20 minutes before [President George W.] Bush and his administration were aware of what was going on. And we never knew that the commander-in-chief of the American armed forces would leave 50,000 of his people in the two towers to face those events by themselves when they were in the most urgent need of their leader. He was more interested in listening to the child's story about the goat rather than worry about what was happening to the towers. So, we had three times the time necessary to accomplish the events. Your security is not in the hands of [Democratic presidential nominee John] Kerry or Bush or al Qaeda. Your security is in your own hands. *Any nation that does not attack us will not be attacked.*