Quote:
Originally posted by irateplatypus
the bases are there because we rebuffed an iraqi takeover of kuwait and prevented a possible invasion of saudi arabia. those bases are there with the consent of the national governments. we were invited there, we remain there because the governments consider us the lesser of several evils... necessary to the stability of the region.
bookman, you're way out of line here. you've been given the challenge and chance to back that outrageous claim up... but you've chosen not to.
ok, back on topic...
harsh economic conditions may be a reason given to these young persons to incite the rampant anti-US sentiment, but why do you suppose they are under those harsh conditions to start with? it would seem that every person in that region should being living as comfortably as anyone in the world. the oil money flow is beyond anything found elsewhere in a per-capita sense. if anything, there economies are being kept afloat by our ever-present thirst for oil. so... why is it that the world's biggest consumer of the main source of wealth for these countries is seen as it is?
to me, the answer appears to be ideological in a way that is arranged to perpetuate the social and economic orders as well. the elite in these countries are suppressing the masses and keeping the enourmous wealth to themselves. the only way they can keep this system going in an age where information can travel like it does is to create a blanket of fear of the western (democratic) world. if freedom will break their stranglehold, then it only makes sense for them to bring hate against those who promote it.
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Chance to back up which claim?