Australians have a new government: will the US lose an ally?

Suicide bombers are only "so called" Terrorists? The Islamic Totalitarians have declared war on the entire world. It is a proven fact that they seek to destroy anyone whom won't tow their line and live by their rules. They have created a culture of self-immolation and have turned their so-called moral pronouncements into a sick joke.

No they're not pretend terrorists. They're real alright. But here's where semantics is important. The "so-called" bit is all about creating a global climate of fear that continues to perpetuate a siege mentality to the exclusion of everything else that's valuable and worth living for. Not everybody want sot fight a war with no end. Not everyone is out to get anyone. But the war mongers and trigger happy crowd will happily see this continue at all and any cost. That's important to highlight. Australians have spoken loud and clear that this is not the way to win the peace.

The second point to highlight is that years of collective foreign policy tilt towards marginalising (instead of engaging in talks and discussions) great swathes of the Muslim world have resulted in the terror cells we're now confronting. These guys didn't show up on 9/11. They were goaded and seeded into taking those extreme positions when their views weren't given the time of day. Zak, at the end of the day, it does come down to mutual respect anmd treating each other as you would yourself.

Some people might say (and that's ok, we all have opinions) that you cannot talk to some loonies out there. But before we get to that point, we have to make a fair shake of it first before picking up a rifle. A lot of the latter has happened in the years leading up to 9/11. That's why until we make the effort to reach out, we're not going to see the end of this armed conflict.

Israel won its right to exist on the battlefield. The outright hatred the Islamic nations still harbor is poison, which is actually destroying Islamic society. The powerful elites from Syria to Iran use this hatred to oppress their own people. In an ideal world where their society actually desired peace, prosperity and freedom the Middle East would enjoy both peace and a rising standard of living. Without revenue from petroleum these countries would be as poverty stricken as Ethiopia or Chad.

I read and re-read this several times, and I don't think you responded to what Ninja actually said. For one thing, he used "so-called" in reference to the War on Terror, not to the terrorists or 9/11. He also suggested that the divisive, "us versus them" mentality is making the situation worse, while an attitude of mutual respect might help. Other than your suggestion that we can't control how others act toward us (which, of course, we can to some extent. I used to have a boyfriend who would tell me that he couldn't control my reactions, that my reactions and feelings were my own responsibility. In other words, he had no desire to stop cheating on me; he just wanted me to stop being upset by it), you haven't really responded to his arguments. Instead, you offer up a short-sighted and ideologically limited view of history (as if every issue in the Middle East stems from hatred of Israel) and the unrelated message that America is still the "land of opportunity."

Are military victories the only victories with moral legitimacy? If China or someone came to America and conquered us and continued to demonstrate its military might over us, would you accept their claims to our nation as legitimate and morally correct? Or, as you accuse all non-Jewish residents of the Middle East of doing, might you hold a wee grudge and want your traditional homeland back? I don't know--I doubt most Americans would just roll over and accept the conquering power. We tend to only accept the conquering power when that power is us, or our ally. Maybe if we were distracted by a special 2-hour episode of American Idol or something.

We tinker about with the Middle East (and Central America) at our will. Do you think they should just enjoy it, or do you think maybe it would make you mad if another government did it to us? Do you not think that American support of Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq War and our support of the Taliban during the Soviet era had anything to do with the current troubles?

I saw that you're a member of the libertarians Vox group. Are you a libertarian? And if so, aren't you somewhat bothered by the evisceration of our civil liberties that has gone in the name of security, particularly since so many of these regulations and procedures are of extremely dubious aid to security? I'm pretty bothered by it, personally. It is true that totalitarian nations are generally safer, but that's not a trade I am willing to make.

Zak - It is true that moderate often are perceived to make incremental improvements as opposed to striking out on a bold new course. If they were true trail blazers they would not be moderates, they would be extremists (though that word is probably more extreme than I mean to imply).

On the other hand, it requires both a new vision AND a clear mandate from the electorate to achieve true dramatic change. In a divided country, it is hard to imagine either party achieving a clear mandate about anything. Thus, in my opinion, it will require alliance building and healing of the schism that the two parties represent to create true progress.

A populist President who is not polarizing in his (or her) politics could create the environment for sweeping change to occur. We have serious problems in this nation that are festering and need to be addressed. Cheap oil is the opiate of the masses. Until that issue is addressed in a comprehensive fashion our nation will be both morally and economically beholden to those that seldom share our goals or our values.