[Mr 5 0]

Hammer:

Adam, you're referring to so-called 'World Opinion' that appears to be against any invasion of Iraq and is generally antipathetic when it comes to the United States of America. Your observations are entirely correct and I feel the same disgust and sadness that you do. It's hard to not be appreciated as a compassionate and giving people but even worse to be riviled by the nations our military helps protect from the power-mad dictators intent on destroying western civilization. We can deal with the Saddam Husseins and Kim Jong Ill's of the world but what do you do with France, Germany and other western nations that seem to despise you for simply trying to make America and the world safer for everyone by removing murderous dictators and their weapons of Mass destruction?

I have a few observations of my own here I would like to add.

First, so-called 'World Opinion' isn't worth a mouthful of warm spit, in my opinion. 'World Opinion' didn't do squat to prevent terrorism from growing into the world-wide problem it now is and one that only the U.S. military and our CIA/FBI and other covert ops can eventually cripple and make ineffective. 'World Opinion' is simply groups of anti-American people here and abroad that are very vocal and know how to organize and receive instant and extensive media attention, making them seem much bigger in scope and more important than they really are. In a world of almost 8 billion people it isn't hard to find a few thousand - even a hundred thousand - to march and wave signs around for an afternoon, 'protesting' America and our President. So what?

'World Opinion' is easily manipulated, as we all know. The U.S. and most foreign media are very one-sided (libera)l and they are always against any American show of force unless a liberal Democrat president authorizes it (Clinton against Iraq in '98) or the military operation has no observable benefit to America (Bosnia, et al). Then it's O.K. to put our troops in harms way, but only then. Actually protecting Americans from terrorism is seen as 'arrogant' and promoting U.S. 'hegemony', a word few really understand. Fortunately, our current president, George W. Bush, knows that these protests are basically meaningless in deciding what actions to take in Iraq. The stubborn refusal of France and Germany to back the U.S. in the U.N. is also practically meaningless now. They have their own agenda - and we have ours. They also know that the United States does not need their approval and that President Bush does not run his administration based on polls, a la Clinton. His goal is not worldwide approval. Recall Bushs' State of the Union speech where he said: "The actions of others will not dictate what America does". Good man.

I would add that while 'World Opinion' appears to be against us, it really isn't. Most nations have quietly backed the U.S. in the U.N. and elsewhere but they get little publicity if they're not on the Security Council. CNN and the American alphabet networks only show the isolated opposition but never the massive agreement we have at home and abroad for our policies. Conflict makes good TV and since the media is generally anti-Bush anyway, it's a win-win for them, at least as they see it. Unfortunately, this anti-Bush and anti-American attitude is like a cancer that grows on us and eventually, otherwise rational people begin to believe that the whole world is against us. Well, communists in China and most dictatorships - of which the world has many - are against us, for obvious reasons.

As far as Europe goes, they've been on a long slide toward total socialism for many decades now. Teenagers raised in Europe (France, England, Germany, especially) have been taught that the U.S. is the oppressor nation and needs to be 'controlled' lest we exert our 'hegemony' over Europe. They believe this. Oh, they love our television shows, our clothes, our music and so on but as a nation, well, we're 'dangerous'. How foolish and sad is that? Yes, millions of Europeans actually believe this and their media endorses the idea of a 'dangerous' Uncle Sam. My wife was recently in London and Scotland for three weeks and saw this attitude first-hand. Much resentment of America. A lot of it unfocused because it has no real basis in fact. President Bush is considered either a moron or a cowboy - or both. Of course the U.S. media does the same thing. Frustrating - on both counts.

My conclusion is that, first: Americans like us - that see the danger in terrorism and resent the protesters and anti-American attitudes in Europe and at home - need to realize that much of this behavior and attitude is media driven and in some cases, communist-inspired. The world does not hate and fear us, as they want you to believe. We also need to know that we are right, both morally and legally. There is no shame is putting our American soldiers on the line to destroy a Saddam Hussein and to spend billions of our tax dollars to accomplish it while the leftists and anti-American groups sit back and call us 'killers' and 'evil'. They are quite wrong and most reasonable people know it. War is an ugly, horrible thing but it is inevitable sometimes and with modern technology we can assure that as few of both our people and 'their people' are killed while destroying the Iraqi military infrastructure and weapons of mass destruction that threaten us all.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: It's very easy to be against war. Very easy. To feel morally superior and better than others because YOU don't want anyone to die. To call George W. Bush vile names and claim 'It's about the Oil' and other lies. Of course, when Anthrax and other deadly biological and chemical weapons are manufactured by power-mad, murdering dictators like a Saddam Hussein and eventually used on Americcans and Europeans and kills tens of thousands of innocent civilians - women and childen included - then the decision to eliminate a Saddam will seem like the reasonable plan it is - but too late for the thousands of dead and the damage has been done, as it was on 9/11/01 when we lost close to 3,000 lives to terrorism, funded and supported by nations like Iraq. Waiting just makes it harder to act.

America is on the right side here and most of us realize it. That some Democrats and media liberals try to turn us against our President based on his pursuit of the elimination of WMD in Iraq - and that they do so for cheap political gain - is disgusting and shows a distinct lack of sincerity and concern for the well-being of America and it's citizens. That some European nations are also against us, mostly for their own political reasons is predictable and need not be a source of sadness but more, dismissive contempt as those nations need America a lot more than America needs them and their fawning approval based on some political expediency. We'll remove Saddam and we'll easily survive 'World Opinion' - as we always have.

The ungratefullness of nations we've aided and supported for decades is annoying but sadly, predictable. Ever loan someone money and then have them avoid you and eventually turn on you? Same principle at work. That the person needed to ask for the loan is humilating to them and not paying it back just makes them resentful that you had it to lend in the first place and they had to ask you for it, making them dependent on you, in a sense. Well, Europe has had to do more than ask us for money, although they've done that many, many times in the past as has much of the world at some point or other. They've had to ask us to save their country from being overrun by brutal dictators because they couldn't defend themselves. America came to the rescue and then lent our allies and even our former enemies the money to rebuild. We're a generous, compassionate people. We're also unappreciated, especially now, even by our own citizens. I saw some liberal Congressman ranting on TV in a discussion about South Korea, that: "just because we saved South Korea from communism fifty years ago, they don't have to kiss our butts, now". Typical attitude of liberals and leftists here and abroad. Fortunately, they are not the majority and more importantly, they are wrong. Very wrong. History will prove them so but as for America being unappreciated, thus it ever was and will be. We'll survive and continue to prosper despite the lefties and their marches. Count on it. We're Americans.