The US is Now in the Hands of a Group of Extremists...George Soros

[ElsewheresDaughter]

AMERICAN TALIBANISM....IMHO
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0126-01.htm


Fundamentalism has Spawned an Ideology of American Supremacy

by George Soros

The invasion of Iraq was the first practical application of the pernicious Bush doctrine of pre-emptive military action, and it elicited an allergic reaction worldwide - not because anyone had a good word to say about Saddam Hussein, but because we insisted on invading Iraq unilaterally without any clear evidence that he had anything to do with September 11 or that he possessed weapons of mass destruction.

The gap in perceptions between America and the rest of the world has never been wider. Abroad, America is seen as abusing the dominant position it occupies; opinion at home has been led to believe that Saddam posed a clear and present danger to national security. Only in the aftermath of the Iraqi invasion are people becoming aware they have been misled.

Even today, many people believe that September 11 justifies behavior that would be unacceptable in normal times. The ideologues of American supremacy and President Bush personally never cease to remind us that September 11 changed the world. It is only as the untoward consequences of the invasion of Iraq become apparent that people are beginning to realize something has gone woefully wrong.

We have fallen into a trap. The suicide bombers' motivation seemed incomprehensible at the time of the attack; now a light begins to dawn: they wanted us to react the way we did. Perhaps they understood us better than we understand ourselves.

And we have been deceived. When he stood for election in 2000, President Bush promised a humble foreign policy. I contend that the Bush administration has deliberately exploited September 11 to pursue policies that the American public would not have otherwise tolerated. The US can lose its dominance only as a result of its own mistakes. At present the country is in the process of committing such mistakes because it is in the hands of a group of extremists whose strong sense of mission is matched only by their false sense of certitude


more...

[many a good man]

1. Hate the government, not the people

...has been the most common response around the world for a long time. I agree with Soros that this sense is about to change:

"If Bush is rejected in 2004, his policies can be written off as an aberration and America resume its rightful place in the world. But if he is re-elected, the electorate will have endorsed his policies and we will have to live with the consequences."

[9215]

2. Bush was never "elected" in the first place

So how can he be "re-elected". If he steals the next election or in some other way neutralizes the publics input who is to blame?

[indepat]

3. Some humble foreign policy: some liberty and freedom at home

with the Patriot Acts II fully operable including spying on those who would voice any disapproval of their humble, freedom-loving ways.

[info being]

4. How's this for a new meme: "9/11 did not change EVERYTHING!"

- It did not give us permission to bully and plunder the world
- It does not mean we have to abandon the freedoms that have made this country great for over 200 years, etc., etc.

So, in other words, we should challenge this head-on...for it is the root cause why so many otherwise decent Americans are going along with the fascists.