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There is lot of rhetoric, mostly in America but also in Europe, that Bush is responsible for all these problems.  He's responsible for the current escalation of fear and violence, but colonialism, racism, fundamentalist religion, oil, oil dependance, tyranical regimes in the Middle East all existed before he came along.  

We had all the ingredients for a bomb.  He just decided to use it.

That is actually very dangerous rhetoric, because when Bush is finally gone people will breathe a sigh of relief and think all is well, things will sort themselves out and they can stop being concerned.

Those whom the Gods wish to destroy They first make mad. — Euripides
by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Sep 14th, 2006 at 12:28:57 PM EST
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Indeed.

It's the underlying narrative of 'We own the planet - so fuck you, and give us all your resources' that needs to change.

Bush is just the most visible mushroom head of a much deeper established moral rot among the Western elites.

There's nothing complicated about this. The US is reviled the world over because many of the people in its elites are thieves and criminals, with not infrequent Fascist leanings.

If it stopped its regular scheduled program of invasions, coups, destabilisations, torture camps, extraordinary renditions, and economic pillage, all promoted under the deeply cynical label of 'democracy', the rest of the world might suddenly become more pleasantly disposed to it.

As it is, people know exactly what they're getting. Which - unsurprisingly - is why they really, really don't like it.

Sugar coating the abuse with Mickey Mouse and CocaCola can only go so far when your loved ones have been disappeared, or buried under what's left of a building.

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Thu Sep 14th, 2006 at 01:12:06 PM EST
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