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I agree, but I see it as a kind of native mean streak and a peculiarly US form of xenophobia, tinged with racism. I've kept trying to see Afghanistan and Iraq in terms of Vietnam and it doesn't work. There are almost no parallels--except that life is cheap and corrupt in Asia so it didn't matter. Life is just as cheap and corrupt in the Middle East, so ...
I've been trying to find another model and only one that comes to mind is Israel. So that the US views the Arab world as if we were Israel dealing with the West Bank and Gaza. Somebody already put this model out, but I can remember who. The model doesn't work too well either mainly because the Israelis have a direct interest in more land and the US doesn't. But it seems like we are heading down a very similar road. Probably many Arab and Muslim people view the US in terms similar to their view of Israel. The only difference I can see is Sharon is smarter, therefore meaner than Bush.
So taking Israel as a rough model, then the US public reaction to the absence of WMD, translates into the idea that the Iraqis deserved whatever we throw at them, period. It doesn't matter what the excuse or rational. Then turning it around, the US expects terrorist attacks to arrive as they do in Israel, even though that hasn't happened after 9/11.
The new crusade comes to mind. The consequence is the US has made the entire Muslim world its virtual West Bank. So that, with or without provocation the US will entirely focus on the Muslim world and systematically pursue any and all methods to de-stabilize all the governments through propaganda, obnoxious diplomatic intrigue, continual military threats, in addition to the occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq, and so forth.
The increasing hostile reactions the Muslim world has toward the US, all of which are made doubly justifiable after the invasions and occupations, will be translated here into support for `terrorism'. It now makes no difference whether those hostile reactions are turned into material support or whether they are in fact terrorist. None of that matters any more. The model involved here is something like `communism'. Whatever the US government says is communism is communism, period. Whoever or whatever the US calls a terrorist or a terrorist state is, period and most of the US public will buy it.
Chuck Grimes