London
 

For a good look at the political background leading to the London disaster:

The Time of Revenge

The article is on Salon.Com and if you are not a subscriber will have to look at an advert to get access to the full article.

Re: London
 

The last line of the article:

If Americans look closer, however, they will realize that Bush's incompetent crusade has made the world more dangerous, not less.

This article will be dismissed by conservatives as anti-American/anti-Bush. I have to admit that I don't see any language in this piece that paints the perpetrators in a negative light. A polar opposite of what I'd expect from Fox News, which raises red flags for me. If this were truly a look at the political background leading up to the event, Juan Cole would have refrained from labeling Bush as "monumentally stupid".

Re: London
 

As much as I hate Bush and am annoyed at Blair's lapdog-like attitude towards him, I must say that I didn't even feel the need to read the article. It is absolutely assinine to assume the root cause of the blast before the culprits have even been determined. It's a fair bet that this was perpetrated for the exact same reasons as the Madrid bombings, but assigning motive where there is not even a defined villain yet is simply political posturing.

Hell. This could have been the friggin' IRA for all we know.

Re: London
 

Juan Cole is definitely and vocally opposed to Bush's policies in the middle east.

As far as dismissing this by conservative (I would say neo-cons not conservatives) I definitely expect them to dismiss any view not offered first on Fox News. The few still thinking for themselves may find some nuggets to ponder (or not).

In any case his blog is a must read for anyone interested in the middle east.

Re: London
 

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As far as dismissing this by conservative (I would say neo-cons not conservatives) I definitely expect them to dismiss any view not offered first on Fox News. The few still thinking for themselves may find some nuggets to ponder (or not).

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You know, it is possible that conservatives just have a different opinion on issues than liberals and are not simply following the talking points of Fox News. I wish we could get past the name calling and disrespect each side shows to each other, and simply say, "I disagree with the conservative/liberal viewpoint because..."

Re: London
 

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As far as dismissing this by conservative (I would say neo-cons not conservatives) I definitely expect them to dismiss any view not offered first on Fox News. The few still thinking for themselves may find some nuggets to ponder (or not).

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You know, it is possible that conservatives just have a different opinion on issues than liberals and are not simply following the talking points of Fox News. I wish we could get past the name calling and disrespect each side shows to each other, and simply say, "I disagree with the conservative/liberal viewpoint because..."

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Well said. I can't stand bitter partisanship. Polical theory can be very interesting, but it's often impossible to discuss without breaking into name-calling and stereotypes.

I'm conservative and enjoy watching foxnews, because it's marketed towards my point of view. If someone told me I didn't form my own opinions, but allowed myself to be brainwashed by a cable news network, I'd be very offended. I would never claim that someone who is liberal marches to beat of CNN or the NY Times, I would just assume they have a different opinion than I do.

Re: London
 

If someone said of a rape or domestic abuse victim, 'she brought it on herself', liberals would be offended (and rightly so). Yet many of them often seem to use this same logic when discussing terrorism.

Re: London
 

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If someone said of a rape or domestic abuse victim, 'she brought it on herself', liberals would be offended (and rightly so). Yet many of them often seem to use this same logic when discussing terrorism.

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I wasn't arguing that the article was factually incorrect--I believe that US foreign policy makes the world a more dangerous place. My point was that the article was slanted too far left, which makes it easy to dismiss as liberal garbage.

Re: London
 

Terrorism is simply another form of war. You can bring war upon yourself through lousy policy decisions.

Terrorism is not like rape or domestic abuse in that people will keep doing it, and you need to catch them. There is often a root cause, and you can stop that.

Of course, the people who are already doing this stuff are unsavable and should be caught and thrown away.

Remember, most people aren't born bad, they become that way though upbringing.

Re: London
 

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Terrorism is simply another form of war.

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And Zarqawi is a "Jordanian Fighter," huh?

Terrorism is a ruthless, barbaric form of warfare that kills innocent people.