Congratulations, you’re just the same as you say they are, just different country and different propaganda.

Excellent post.

I come from brasil.
In hte 1960's, we had a coup here that installed a army regime that lasted 26 years, with over 5,000 people tortured and killed in the end (we were the lucky ones, some other countries had ten times this number)
So what a surprose when in hte 80's the CIA released documents from that time that detailed a task force to invade brasil in case the coup didnt go as planned. They even funded the military.
Now... I can make the distinction of the times, and hate only they govt at that time for what happened. The problem is the american govt and many americans fail to accept responsability for these kind of actions their govt took. Thats all we ask, respect. I know any of you are to blame and there are few plp in the US govt today that had a hand in this, but just to nuderstand that the "morals and values" go with the interest of the time, and its nmo different today.

Whats the difference of what happned to my country then, and attack Iraq on such weak basis ? Surew you can argue, like most plp always do, that he was an evil dictator and bla bla bla, but when you totally ignore the U.N abd do your own thing, and 2 years later asks for their help to secure the region, you are admitting something was wrong.

when Iraq is "liberated"years from now, do you really think people will praise the U.S as liberators, or people will work to attack you again, using htis invasion as a reason?
How many will be killed then?

It is true that a 'hate America' culture has arisen in the Muslim world. It is very true that certain elements within the jihadist movement want a strict version of the Muslim faith to spread across the entire world. However, it is incorrect to blame the terrorist attacks of 9/11 on the more radical elements of the jihadists movement, and it is equally short sighted to see the current 'hate America' culture as the cause of 9/11. Not because it is not an issue, but because it ignores the question originally asked, "why".

To understand why, you have to go back to the very first incident. Operation Ajax. This was a covert operation by American and English intelligence agencies to overthrow the democratically elected Mohamed Mossadeq. You read that correctly, Mossadeq was 'DEMOCRATICALY' elected. Yet we overthrew him and installed the Sha of Iran, converting Iran into more or less a dictatorship. The people of Iran were outraged, and in the concurrent revolution in 1979, American hostages were taken as a direct result. The very first terrorist incident was incited by the American Government itself. After this, America has continuously berated countries in the middle-east with abhorrent acts. From the billion dollar support of Israel, a state widely held among Muslims as murderous, to the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians in the gulf war, to the millions dead from starvation due to sanctions supported by America. So, given this, you ask "why do they hate us". I think a better question would be, "why wouldn't they hate us".

I love this country, and I profoundly value the principles on which this great nation was founded. However, we have allowed the government that runs this nation to destroy those values. Take a look at our policies over the last fifty years and ask yourself, "Is this what those brave souls who penned the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution envisioned?" My fellow Americans, I think not.

Yes, it was all because we replaced the Iranian president with the Sha. Even though the hijackers of the planes were Syrian. Also, just because the US participated in questionable and debatable incidents in the past doesn't mean we shouldn't eliminate the terrorist threat. Ignoring the threat would be a fatal mistake.

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“Good leaders abhor wrongdoing of all kinds; sound leadership has a moral foundation.”

-Proverbs 16:12

>>> Why do They Hate us?

It's a long and interesting story. Let's get into the Wayback Machine with Mr. Peabody to. . .

1099 AD. . .the First Crusade, Europeans had no more nearby worlds to conquer after trouncing ol' Harold at Hastings and thought the Middle East with its Moslem masters would be a Good Place to Own. Long story short, after two centuries of savage conflict, the locals prevailed. By the way, to this day the worst oath a Moslem can utter against a westerner is "Crusader", quite telling. Old animosities just keep on truckin'.

Seventeenth century. . .Western Europe goes forth with Righteous Christian Fervor colonizing all of the world too weak to defend itself against the improving influence of some of the Worst Swine Europe Ever Produced. This experience featured [as example] the forced unification at gunpoint of ethnic regions into the sovereign nation of Iraq* and three wars by Britian alone to enforce it.

Oil. . .with its baggage of oil companies, western ideas, coca-cola, soft ice cream, McDonald's, and Jesus Christ. This alone is justification for a little irritability.

By the way, it's not the US they hate. . .we're just the latest white face up in their faces.

Moslems don't hate in the abstract. They hate what they see. . .and they see us on their turf.

* - There is a delicious circular irony in that return to the pre-British-occupation era [three states] is the odds on probable result of The Bush II Experience. Entertainment just doesn't get better than that!

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“In government, the way you know your friends is they’ll stab you in the front.”
- National Public Radio, Unattributed

I apologize if I made it sound as if Operation Ajax was the sole reason for 9/11. It most certainly was not. What I was trying to point out was that from the beginning of Middle Eastern terrorism, it has been our foreign policy that has created such a hatred of America. I agree with you, we surely cannot ignore terrorist acts against our nation. However, if we simply ignore 'why' they commit the terrorist acts, then we are doomed to forever fight them. We must come to grips with our own transgressions.

I liked the post on "why do they attack us"

Unfortunitly I don't know how much disengagement we can truely do unless we throw Israel under a bus. And possibly our oil interests along with it.

As for the US's history I think we should do some apologizing.

But I don't know if it's always fair to say the people at the time did the wrong thing. Or if they even did the wrong they. They supported tyrants and the like, but that was because they were up against the very real threats of the Axes powers,and then Communism. Neither of which were little fluffy bunnies.

Do we think that the Nazis and Imperial Japan would have broken out the carebears and had a love fest if the US had just kept their noses out of their business. No they would have continued to spread. Possibly until the point where we couldn't deal with them.

And communism was also looking to spread. And they were jockying for position too. We didn't make up the Cuban Missile crisis. And I don't know if the leaders of the time had any idea of the eventual Soviet Implosion. They beat us to space and were holding up their military just fine for much of that.

Then we kinda go dragged into the business with Israel and the oil. We didn't even get a break between the two.

And militant Islam is quite eager to spread. Part of why al queda hates us is because we prevent them from overthrowing people like the Saudis, and other allies thus preventing him from getting what he wants. Which in addition to the destruction of Israel is "uniting all Muslims and establish, by force if necessary, an Islamic nation adhering to the rule of the first Caliphs."

I'm not saying the Saudis S!%^ don't stink but the alternative, once again darn it, isn't fluffy bunnies.

I can agree with you that America at times must exact force against those that would pose a threat to the world. However it is unfair and incorrect to juxtapose terrorist with the Nazis. The media somehow has ingrained it into the American psyche that all terrorist want to change the whole world into a strict Muslim faith planet. Actually, if you listen to the terrorist themselves instead of pundits on Fox News, you'll see that they have actual 'reasons' for these attacks. Now, this does not mean that those reasons justify the slaughter of innocents, because they most certainly do not. However, it is gravely important that we understand those reasons, so that we may avoid such problems in the future.

Consider this hypothetical situation. An ex-military agent comes to you, and asks you to strap a bomb to yourself and kill some Chinese people that will be gathering in a public place tomorrow. Now even though you have an extreme disgust for communism, you aren't likely to do something so extreme.
Now, its ten years later. The Chinese have invaded Hawaii, killing thousands of innocent Hawaiians and Americans. They have also setup military bases all along the border of Texas and Maine. The military officers there torture and rape men and women accused of spying or being militants, but none of them are ever really punished by their government. The Chinese begin influencing our politics, funding and supporting people who are known criminals and who obviously do not have the interests of Americans at heart. Your mother and father have been captured by the Chinese government, on suspicion of hiding weapons or harboring militants. They have been gone for months and all your efforts to find out where they are have failed due to an apparent disregard for your rights as a human being. Those corrupt politicians have legislated your job away, and you are now homeless, living day to day from handouts. Now, after all of this, that same ex-military agent comes to you. While the suggestion is extreme in the utmost, your hatred for Chinese people is beyond anything you could have ever imagined, and since there doesn't seem to be any other way of bringing attention to your plight, the offer isn't looking so bad now.

All I'm saying is, we need to come to the realization that our foreign policy has ignited a wave of hatred for us, and me must change those policies if we ever want to stop terrorism.

I am sorry it is a cop out to blame PAST American policies and actions. A plain simple cop out.

I do not care what happened 30 years ago, the point is, if you have grief with someone, take them on with legal ways. Not like Bin Laden doesnt have the cash to win any legal battle internationally or not.

Sorry, but I blame the terrorists for their actions, not Americans years ago who did individual actions against other individuals.