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I think it should be fairly apparent that al-Qaeda is resisting Empire. I mean that's what they claim isn't it? However, it doesn't follow that any enemy of my enemy is my friend. And, yes the US empire is my enemy. After all they tried to get me killed by trying to send me to Vietnam, closed down every government poverty program and civil rights project I ever worked for and systematic kill off a lot of the people I deal with everyday in the healthcare system.
Do I think the US should have expected serious and deadly opposition to its horrific and duplicious political, economic and cultural policies and hegemony. You bet. A very long time ago.
Do I think the people in NYC and DC had it coming?
No. But that is a qualified and complicated no.
I think people in the US need to realize they are going to be held personally responsible for their government's actions in the world. And worse. If we don't mount a serious resistance to those policies in whatever way we can, we are essentially complicit in them. It is passed due that we put US Empire on the table and figure out where we stand in relation to it, all the way down.
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Charles: Yes, it is fairly well known that the German people paid an enormous price for being "Good German's". Whether they had it coming or not, they got it.
We're just trying to sound the alarm that Americans are acting like "good Germans" in the current war.
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Israel isn't a bad example here, in the sense that people in Israel can be part of the peace movement and active in resisting military service in the occupation and still get blown up. Are they then supposed to join the settlements on the West Bank and carry an Uzi? Well that's obviously up to whoever is effected. But in general no, not that either.
There is no clear moral ground here anywhere. And, it is foolish to support US military action in Afghanistan, as if it had a high moral purpose. That isn't to say that al Qaeda is some anti-Empire hero of mine either. They are obviously rightwing, fundamentalist and terrorists. They more than likely would be faster in killing off their secular leftwing opposition, than whatever rightwing opposition they had. But randomly bombing Afghanistan and cheering that sort of atrocity, isn't defensible either. And, needless to say it is also failing, and beginning to look a lot like the opening to a quagmire.
As for being smeared for keeping company with my playmates Charles and Hakki, I can live with that. I like Charles and Hakki, and usually agree with both more often than not---even if I grown a little when Hakki goes off to conspiracies r'us, or Charles gets bogged down defending some indefensible line.
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CB: Which Charles are we talking about here ?
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On the other hand, I grown whenever Justin tries to find redeeming features in Posner, or Nathan tries to prove Democrats are not spineless scum, or even occasionally when Doug goes off for some mysterious and oblique reason.
What did Carrol say Doug said? `Off she flounced in a huff...'
Oh, that's me. Flouncing Chuckie Huff. But hey, it was hate-chuck-week at work too---at least according to my other playmates Siesta Larry and Laughing boy Loi.
Chuck Grimes
ps Joanna. Thanks for the defense. I was at work when I posted the thing on Fischer and had to wait until after dinner to respond. Meanwhile the whole thread was more or less covered by the time I got back to the computer.