You forgot AIPAC the lobby in Washington that can field as many as 1000 lobbyists to twist arms and get their way.
You forgot AIPAC the lobby in Washington that can field as many as 1000 lobbyists to twist arms and get their way.
There is some misdirection here, whether intended or not. To imply that the economic/social direction that the United States has taken in the past 60 years is somehow connected to poor foreign policy in the middle east is somewhat baffling. The "entitlement generation" is a product of decades of government indulgence and over spending, not as a product of helping someone that has been deemed an ally. Whether or not the nation of Israel is truly an ally is beside the point. Blaming them for the predicament that we've put ourselves in is simply incorrect.
Furthermore, I believe that America has been truly blessed but not so much as a result of what we've done around the world as much as here in our own back yard. This nation started out as one seeking freedom and equality and though there were some tough times we've managed to make it through all of them. We used to be a nation of people that loved their neighbors, but in recent decades we've become obsessed with self and instant gratification. Lately, I've begun to wonder if most people in our nation these days wouldn't rather give their neighbor "one to the hip" than try to reason with them and build enduring friendships.
These are just my views and of course there is no hard proof for matters of faith. Rant switch disengaged.
I believe the implication is that correlation exists between the two, not causation. The cause of both of these two events (US problems on the home front, poverty, etc... being one, and poor Middle East relations [including our unfaltering devotion to Israel] being the other) is ultimately pool Government leadership and decisions.
The entitlement generation is certainly a problem, but I don’t think it has anything to do with what is being hashed out here: the use of the United States as a tool for Israel. Our current situation with the “War on Terror” farce that is killing what liberties we have left in this country is a result of our foreign policy. Our position as a de facto Tel Aviv West is what is causing ill feelings from the Arab world, not our “American Exceptionalism”. Not that we need to placate the Muslim world, either, but rather look after our own best interests.
We need to take care of the United States. We need to handle our problems (and Lord do we have a lot of them). If Israel wants to take a swing at Iran – or anyone else for that matter - let ‘em; but the U.S. needs to stay the hell out of it. I have no desire to see us sacrifice any more of our kids and money on their causes, their interests, or their welfare. They are a sovereign nation and are equipped to handle themselves. Let them.
My argument is that the only "correlation" between the two is chance. If I buy a firestar semi-automatic pistol and a bayliner cabin cruiser on the same day, and the firestar blows up in my hand, it cannot be stated that the purchase of the bayliner had anything to do with the explosion and any resulting injury. Two distinctly different sets of decisions made during the same time period must be considered independently of one another. If one wants to make an argument that we haven't been blessed since we've made Israel an ally, it is also entirely possible to argue (and I'm not by any means advocating that either scenario is true) that the only reason we haven't completely disintegrated as a result of our poor economic/social decision making is because we've treated Israel well. I'm simply saying that there isn't evidence as to whether or not we've been divinely favored for any particular course of action. To make a statement like "how's that blessing thing working out for you" makes the implication that any perceived lack of blessing (or worse, condemnation as an opposite of blessing) assumes that one can prove that the blessing has/has not occurred as a result of a particular course of action. Clear as mud?
I'm just saying that most of our problems are coming from decades of irresponsibility on our part. Claims that "the war on terror" or the "use of the United States as an Israeli tool" are more of a threat to our liberties than our own stupid decision making seem (to me) to be an attempt to deflect responsibility for our problem away from ourselves. Our problems start here at home with us. Not in someone else's home with them. Quite honestly, if we'd leave Israel the hell alone, they'd beat the living crap out of the people giving them problems, so maybe it's best for everyone else in the region that we've repeatedly urged Israel to show restraint. Perhaps our stance isn't as "pro-Israel" as it's made out to be. As for Iran, I think they're more of a problem than just about anyone else in the region and if anyone should be dealt with it's them. They've been supplying weapons to Baath insurgents and Al Quaeda from the get go. These weapons have killed too many American troops. If you don't see a problem with that, that's fine too. I also don't think that any nation who has stated a desired goal of genocide should be allowed to build nuclear facilities.
I think that one thing is clear, we need to stop getting involved in other people's business.
I really don't care if some tribesmen in Afghanistan think that they please their God when their women wear burkas.
We helped Israel long enough and wasted enough blood and money, lost enough freedoms here, made enemies where there was no
reason to make and lived under the threat of terrorism long enough.
Gotta start minding our own business and look after our own problems. I don't want Americans dying for Israeli created problems, I don't want to be searched when I fly, I don't want to be distracted from our domestic problems by overseas adventurism.
Enough!
I think it is clear I think you took his commentary about the supernatural far too literally.
That implies that we control Israel and not the other way around. I don't see that.
So, we go after Iran and naturally after Syria as soon as we are done with Iran (another neocon dream) and then Somalia and then ...you fill in the blanks. Perpetual warfare.
What can I say, I value the lives of our young men more than that.
Somewhere in here we diverted our discussion away from Ron Paul. I don't think he'd worry too much about about the PLO or Iran, so long as we didn't go about pissing the world off as much as we seem to have done the last 60ish years. I'm not an isolationist but there is something to be said about keeping our noses out of others' business.
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