I've been a little worried about the comments I've been getting since I added the comment feature. Mainly, that despite all the shit I write, I've gotten virtually no dissenting opinions in comments. It's nice to have people agreeing with me, for sure, but I expected to see a lot more people getting pissed off and calling me on my shit. Especially since I freely admit that I don't know what the fuck I'm talking about.

Someone, however, has stepped up and gone after me for my recent big "lies" post. I've repeated the comment below, and here's to hoping more people get in on this discussion, as well as future discussions, so that we can get more than just my opinion out there.

Finally, some shit I can get my teeth into. While I have to agree that we do indeed lie to ourselves all too often, are you not guilty of the same thing in this rant. Why is this a "war for oil"? So far we haven't gotten any. If american companies started get huge contracts it would be the biggest news on. Next: Are you saying that you didn't feel proud the day they freed those children from that friggin concentration camp? You call our motives for going in there "evil". That's bullshit. We certainly have done evil things. The formost of which is not stopping what was going on there before this and our continued lack of actively trying to support human rights around the world.

If you want us to stop lying lets start with the dumbassed theory that force is not the way to bring others around to your point of view. Fanatics can not be reasoned with. The very definition of fanatic precludes it. Also they only respect strength. The reason 9/11 happened is because America has done absolutely jackshit about stopping terrorism before then. Wipe out to regimes tho, and guess what... International Terrorism is at its lowest activity since 1977. Why? Because they woke america up and now the real power behind terrorism, people with money, are scared shitless that we are comming for them next. Fuck, have you seen the about face the saudies did when we traced money back to a princess? They are all but licking our asses now. Durring the gulf war they damn near kicked us out of the country. If you want truth the truth is others hate america because it is richer and stronger then them. Oh, and arrogant fucks like me don't help either.

And here's my response:

I'd say that nearly everything we do in the Middle East is related in some way or another to oil. In the case of Iraq, we don't have to physically take control of a single drop - having control and influence over that oil can be very profitable.

American companies are getting big contracts. Like Halliburton's multi-billion dollar no-bid contract. Things like this aren't the "biggest news on" because our media doesn't give them the attention they deserve. It's only recently that contracts are being seriously opened up to non-U.S. companies as the administration does some damage control to improve its PR numbers.

We have started a war, bringing yet more instability to the already beyond unstable Middle East, sent our soldiers to fight and die, killed civilians, spawned more terrorist activities both now and in the future, raised anti-American sentiments to alarming levels, and added to our already burgeoning deficit which future generations will have to deal with. All of it was for the political and monetary gain of Bush and those associated with him. How is that not evil?

I've already said that putting an end to Saddam's human rights violations was a good thing (and who wouldn't say that?). But do I feel pride that we did it ONLY because we stood to gain from it? Fuck no. As you pointed out, our lack of action in the case of other human rights violations is deplorable. I feel even less pride when I think that we will do nothing about those atrocities because we can't make any money on it.

Force does not bring others around to our point of view. It only makes them afraid of us. Most likely, it's going to cement their views which oppose ours. Sure, having people afraid of us has its advantages - for us. But is that the right thing to do? Also, keep in mind that oftentimes fear can give someone impetus to strike back. We've seen this effect in the past, we're seeing it now, and we're gonna see more of it in the future - all stemming from things like the Iraq war.

"Wipe out" two regimes is helping fight terrorism, huh? Well, dismantling Saddam's regime seems to have increased terrorism in Iraq. This is of course just the immediate effects; who knows what the long-term results will bring. And how about Afghanistan? Sure, al Qaeda has been hit hard. But that hasn't stopped them from continuing their activities all over the globe since we've cracked down on them post-9/11. The Taliban, while no longer in control, still has a lot of influence in that country. We've kept them in check, but that hasn't kept them from causing trouble.

Thinking that killing terrorists and scaring them into a docile state will prevent future terrorists from springing up is dangerous and short-sighted, and it doesn't look like they have that much respect for strength.

Oh, and don't discount our friends, the Saudis. Just because they're now making some token gestures to make it look like they're serious about fighting terrorism doesn't mean that they're really doing anything serious to stop the flow of cash to terrorist groups. This is just a hunch, of course, but we'll never know for sure since this country is terrified of pissing of the Saudi Royal Family by putting real pressure on them or doing any serious investigation of activities going on inside that country.

Out of curiosity, where are the "lowest since 1977" figures coming from? Sounds like I've heard something along those lines before, but I can't remember where.

I don't think that others hate America simply because we're "richer and stronger then them" (sic). No, they hate us because of how we treat everyone as being so far beneath us because we're richer and stronger. We flaunt our wealth and our strength, and that's bound to rub people the wrong way. They hate us for our crass and arrogant actions, for our wastefulness, for our disregard of anyone else when our interests are at stake. I think your statement that "arrogant fucks like me don't help either" sums things up nicely. That's just my opinion, of course, which is useless. But it's all I've got.