Did they attack us unprovoked only because "they hate us and our freedoms"?
Or does our governments policy of occupation all over the Middle East and in Muslim territory cause them to revolt?
It's a real simple yes or no type of question, but it's caused quite the media circus since Ron Paul suggested the idea that just maybe, people don't want us setting up military bases on their land and us being there causes people to fight us.
The neo-conservative response to this led by Giuliani is that its "preposterous" and Ron Paul should "take back the comment" and that "they hate us because we're free"- Along with just about every other prominent republican in agreement. "They hate us because we're free" has even come out of the mouth of George Bush.
My view is this; "They hate us because we're free" is the stupidest notion that I think I've ever tried to wrap my simple mind around. ..And it's very possible I'm just too stupid to understand it. Im not by any means an expert in politics, not even close. But being a person, I believe of average or above intelligence, I cannot understand that frame of mind.
To suggest that they train people to kill themselves in suicide attacks simply because they hate our freedom doesn't make sense religiously, logically, theoretically or any other "ally" I can imagine.
Think about it. To what gain does killing free people archive? Their lives are so meaningless that taking the lives of random "infidels" in a suicide attack gets them some sort of reward somewhere? Doesn't this seem rather pointless? Doesn't this cry out for a possible deeper meaning? Shouldn't we consider doing what Ron Paul suggests and actually listen to them and stop brushing them off as being primal, crazy and irrational?
I doubt you can come up with any religious base for this either.
"My god is better than your god, so you die." makes more sense than "They hate us because we're free". To me that suggests that a large group of people, based solely on jealously or condescension, kill themselves and their targets in a pointless global jihad.
One Republican who was interviewed on CNN said: They are not rational, they are crazy. This is supposed to be sufficient rationalization of a large group of people who train to kill. Speaking on Islamic terrorists, I assume. However were not just talking about terrorists. We are in Iraq, fighting civilians who want us to leave. They are being called terrorists too.
Now imagine China or some other country gaining "Super Power" status and then quickly deciding that WE the USA are terrorists based on their own evaluations. Imagine a military base in your Community Park and Chinese soldiers walking up and down your block and randomly doing weapons searches on you.
Imagine a flyer that clearly reads: "You must obey the 7pm curfew. If you are not inside your home by this time we have the right to shoot. Thank you, for your cooperation."
Imagine your neighbor's house getting hammered by a missile attack by "accident" and nobody bothering to listen to anything you have to say about it.
Imagine losing every living family member to a "occupational hazard" or collateral damage and the occupying military doesn't even hear your plea for help.
Imagine not having access to electricity or heat or fuel and your country supplies the oil!
What would you do? I know Im confusing Al Qaeda with Iraqi insurgents and civilians but the idea is the same. They simply dont want us there and there is no rational reason for us to be over there.
All of these things are not theories. They are documented occurrences that I've watched from sources outside of the USA and in. These things are happening in Iraq. This is also happening in Afghanistan and other places around the world.
The US soldiers "hate" the Iraqi people because they don't know who is a friend or foe because they keep getting randomly attacked by "insurgents". That is a quote from a troop. Many of the Iraqi people wanted and welcomed us to come take Saddam out of power, now they are begging for us to leave because they are even less free than before.
The US soldiers must be strict and even cruel because they can't take the chance of getting killed by an angry Iraqi civilian.
What do you think?
