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Author Topic:   In U.S., fear and distrust of Muslims runs deep
DayDreamer
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posted December 16, 2006 09:39 PM           Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
This goes out to Jwhop, Pidaua, Lioneye (Carmab), Isis, Lotus and Juniperb...and anyone else who feels this way


In U.S., fear and distrust of Muslims runs deep

Mon Dec 4, 2006 11:18 AM GMT


By Bernd Debusmann, Special Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When radio host Jerry Klein suggested that all Muslims in the United States should be identified with a crescent-shape tattoo or a distinctive arm band, the phone lines jammed instantly.

The first caller to the station in Washington said that Klein must be "off his rocker." The second congratulated him and added: "Not only do you tattoo them in the middle of their forehead but you ship them out of this country ... they are here to kill us."

Another said that tattoos, armbands and other identifying markers such as crescent marks on driver's licenses, passports and birth certificates did not go far enough. "What good is identifying them?" he asked. "You have to set up encampments like during World War Two with the Japanese and Germans."


At the end of the one-hour show, rich with arguments on why visual identification of "the threat in our midst" would alleviate the public's fears, Klein revealed that he had staged a hoax. It drew out reactions that are not uncommon in post-9/11 America.

"I can't believe any of you are sick enough to have agreed for one second with anything I said," he told his audience on the AM station 630 WMAL (http://www.wmal.com/), which covers Washington, Northern Virginia and Maryland

"For me to suggest to tattoo marks on people's bodies, have them wear armbands, put a crescent moon on their driver's license on their passport or birth certificate is disgusting. It's beyond disgusting.

"Because basically what you just did was show me how the German people allowed what happened to the Jews to happen ... We need to separate them, we need to tattoo their arms, we need to make them wear the yellow Star of David, we need to put them in concentration camps, we basically just need to kill them all because they are dangerous."

The show aired on November 26, the Sunday after the Thanksgiving holiday, and Klein said in an interview afterwards he had been surprised by the response.

"The switchboard went from empty to totally jammed within minutes," said Klein. "There were plenty of callers angry with me, but there were plenty who agreed."

POLLS SHOW WIDESPREAD ANTI-MUSLIM SENTIMENT

Those in agreement are not a fringe minority: A Gallup poll this summer of more than 1,000 Americans showed that 39 percent were in favor of requiring Muslims in the United States, including American citizens, to carry special identification.


Roughly a quarter of those polled said they would not want to live next door to a Muslim and a third thought that Muslims in the United States sympathized with al Qaeda, the extremist group behind the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington.

A poll carried out by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR.L: Quote, Profile , Research), an advocacy group, found that for one in three Americans, the word Islam triggers negative connotations such as "war," "hatred" and "terrorist." The war in Iraq has contributed to such perceptions.

Klein's show followed a week of heated discussions on talk radio, including his own, and online forums over an incident on November 22 involving six Muslim clerics. They were handcuffed and taken off a US Airways flight after passengers reported "suspicious behavior" that included praying in the departure gate area.

The clerics, on their way to a meeting of the North American Imams Federation, were detained in a holding cell, questioned by police and FBI agents, and released. Muslim community leaders saw the incident as yet more evidence of anti-Muslim prejudice.


IGNORANCE SEEN AS KEY PROBLEM

Several American Muslims interviewed on the subject of prejudice over the past few weeks said ignorance was at the core of the problem.

"The level of knowledge is very, very low," said Mohamed Esa, a U.S. Muslim of Arab descent who teaches a course on Islam at McDaniel College in Maryland. "There are 1.3 billion Muslims in the world and some people think they are all terrorists."

Hossam Ahmed, a retired Air Force Reserve colonel who occasionally leads prayer meetings for the small Muslim congregation at the Pentagon, agreed. "Ignorance is the number one problem. Education is of the essence."


There are no hard figures on how many Muslims have been subject to harassment or prejudice and community leaders say that ugly incidents can prompt spontaneous expressions of support. Such as the e-mail a Minneapolis woman sent to CAIR after the imams were taken off their flight.

"I would like to ... help," the e-mail said. "While I cannot offer plane tickets, I would be happy to drive at least 2 or 3 of them. My car is small, but at least some of our hearts in this land of the free are large."

And optimists saw signs of change in the November 4 election of the first Muslim to the U.S. House of Representatives, which has 435 members.

Democrat Keith Ellison, a 43-year-old African-American lawyer, did not stress his religion during his campaign for a Minnesota seat, but said his victory would "signal to people who are not Muslims that Muslims have a lot to offer to the United States and the improvement of our country."

© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved


http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articl enews.aspx?type=reutersEdge&storyID=2006-12-04T111959Z_01_NOA440670_RTRUKOC_0_USA-MUSLIMS-FEAT.xml

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Xodian
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From: Canada
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posted December 16, 2006 10:43 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Xodian     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Ah yes... Hypocracy runs deep.

Bet you anything that these callers would instantly have had a more "Negitive" feedback towards the radio host if the toic of discussion happened to be the Jewish Holocaust.

Still... My judgement upon Americans remain firm. I have met too many good ones to judge an entire nation negitively based on these bad apples.

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BornUnderDioscuri
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posted December 16, 2006 11:14 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for BornUnderDioscuri     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Thank you Xodian, im certainly trying to work on the same spirit. Despite a bunch of bad experiences, most Muslim people i meet honestly blow me away with their maturity and spirit and just kindness... this girl from my class who I dont even know that long called me today to wish me a Happy Hannukah and ask me how me and my bf are doing (she has seen me sad lately) and spend half an hour giving me advice and telling me everything will be ok. That lifted my spirit more than anything has in a while.

I really find it sad and appauling that such reactions occur in the country i live in. I do support Israel and I am Jewish and i saw Sept 11 attack with my own eyes (my high school was right across the river and it was my 3rd day of school) and i can understand why people are fearful and resentful but it bothers me soooo much that people take it upon themselves to stereotype. I think if people just help each other understand one another better...

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jwhop
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From: Madeira Beach, FL USA
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posted December 16, 2006 11:19 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for jwhop     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
You are seriously off your rocker if you believe for a second I "fear" Muslims. I seriously doubt any of the others you defamed "fear" Muslims either.

There are people I know or know of and mistrust..with good reason. I wouldn't have anything to do with them, in business or otherwise.

None of them are Muslim.

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neptune5
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posted December 17, 2006 12:59 AM           Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Roughly a quarter of those polled said they would not want to live next door to a Muslim and a third thought that Muslims in the United States sympathized with al Qaeda, the extremist group behind the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington.

In reality its only natural for muslims in the U.S. to sympathize with Al Qaeda, because of the American/captilist way of life verses Islamic religious ideals creating a clash of moral and ethical values as well as America's generalizations, untamed stereotypes and prejudices of Muslim people, who are *people* let me add, deeply frustrates and upsets them on a humane level.


quote:
"The level of knowledge is very, very low," said Mohamed Esa, a U.S. Muslim of Arab descent who teaches a course on Islam at McDaniel College in Maryland. "There are 1.3 billion Muslims in the world and some people think they are all terrorists."

What has our world come to? Not, what is it coming to, for the evil and the stupidity that we feared and disliked is already amongst us. My Christmas & New Years Wish is for people to realize that when they place prejudices on others out of their personal ignorance and have the audacity to judge people according to their personal views and opinions, their doing a disservice to themselves.

------------------
Virgo Rising, Sagittarius Sun, Pisces Moon

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BornUnderDioscuri
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posted December 17, 2006 03:01 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for BornUnderDioscuri     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
n reality its only natural for muslims in the U.S. to sympathize with Al Qaeda, because of the American/captilist way of life verses Islamic religious ideals creating a clash of moral and ethical values as well as America's generalizations, untamed stereotypes and prejudices of Muslim people, who are *people* let me add, deeply frustrates and upsets them on a humane level.

Woa woa woa...no it is NOT natural for Muslims in the U.S. to sympathise with Al Qaeda...if they are in Afghanistan, perhaps those are the ppl involved in every day life. IN America thats like spitting into the well u drink from. If one doesnt like America's way of life they can feel free to get out...i mean no one has the right to come into a country and try to change their life. Everyone deserves equal respect. And Islamic ideals say nothing against capitalism...Muhammed (PBUH) was a merchant himself...there is nothing that says capitalism is wrong and therefore I fail to see how Islam contradicts American values...considering that Al Qaeda supported the Taliban which goes more against Islam than any American society.

As for generalizations and stereotypes...name a country that doesnt have it? Sorry America didnt invent racism and given what goes on in Europe there isnt much to complain about...or should i mention how France banned head scarves in Public places...btw so did Turkey in 1925...(<--not sure of exact date) and Tunisia...so before ppl attack France consider the latter two countries. Anyone frustrated on a humane level would certainly not support murderers...sorry thats an oxymoron

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neptune5
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posted December 17, 2006 11:07 AM           Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
BUD, youve really enlightened, me, its so great to have so many views of an issue, because they all work together, cancel each other out, help make conclusions, etc. These are all very different, points of view, but as long as we don't judge or misjudge others, we'll be fine.

------------------
Virgo Rising, Sagittarius Sun, Pisces Moon

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Dulce Luna
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From: The Asylum, NC
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posted December 17, 2006 11:14 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Dulce Luna     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
And I second BUD, it is not natural for Muslims here in the U.S. to sympathize with Al Qaeda especially when considering that Al Qaeda follows a very twisted form of Islam that most Muslims don't follow.


Ughhh, that whole article gives me the creeps though. Don't any of those people remember Nazi Germany with the "Yellow Stars"? But I digress, the problem is really more Xenophobic than anything else. People need to be made more aware, thats what needs to be done.

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neptune5
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posted December 17, 2006 11:25 AM           Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Good point Dulce, only education and knowledge would make us and them more aware and I can quote because of what has been previously said about the prejudices secular american people have towards the islamic faith, that not too many American's want to be educated about Islamic ideology, and its the saddest part, because we can learn through one another to create a better world, its possible, but it doesn't look like an actual probablity as of now.

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Virgo Rising, Sagittarius Sun, Pisces Moon

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BornUnderDioscuri
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posted December 17, 2006 02:30 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for BornUnderDioscuri     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Neptune, most definately

Dear Dulce I was myself definately shocked when i heard that people actually took that serious. Very frightening.

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TINK
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posted December 17, 2006 10:24 PM           Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Juni respects Islam very much. She can skillfully discuss its finer points with more ease than a few so-called Muslims I've met.

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Dulce Luna
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From: The Asylum, NC
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posted December 17, 2006 10:30 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Dulce Luna     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Yeah who knows BUD,we could be looking at a repeat of Concentration camps. It always sucks when it seems like history is going to repeat itself...doesn't anyone learn anything??

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BornUnderDioscuri
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posted December 17, 2006 10:44 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for BornUnderDioscuri     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Well okay i wouldnt go that far...thats an extreme comparison. No one in the U.S. is going to round up Muslims and put them to work and then systematically murder them. Even Japanese internment camps werent that extreme. Plus the U.S. learned from that one. Racism though and discriination should be combated as much as possible though.

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DayDreamer
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posted December 18, 2006 12:07 AM           Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Hi Tink,

quote:
Juni respects Islam very much. She can skillfully discuss its finer points with more ease than a few so-called Muslims I've met.

If that were true tink she would have said something to lioneye about her bigotry and her choice of language. However she did not utter one word about it. What remains vivid in my mind is her comment that lioneye was passionate about equality. Juniperb did make the effort to say some things to me though in the hopes of killing the thread. She tried to reason that I should just suck it up and learn to deal with their comments.

She thought I was "warring with myself through other people" and implied I needed to work on my weak imam. Where were such sayings for pidaua or lioneye and their highly offensive posts? No where to be found. She remained silent. And because she remained silent about their posts and chose to focus on me for raising some issues involving bigotry Im left to think she doesnt see it as a problem or possibly sides with what lioneye said.


--------------------------------------------
First they came for the Jews. I was silent. I was not a Jew. Then they came for the Communists. I was silent. I was not a Communist. Then they came for the trade unionists. I was silent. I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for me. There was no one left to speak for me.
~Martin Niemöller

We will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.
~Martin Luther King, Jr

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TINK
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posted December 18, 2006 06:12 AM           Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I know Juni well - as well as anyone can know an Aquarius, I suppose. I can promise you she is a friend of Islam. Of course that doesn't necessarily mean she will agree, point by point, with every Muslim she meets.

quote:
She thought I was "warring with myself through other people" and implied I needed to work on my weak imam.

No, she relayed a message.

I think when she pointed out pid's love of country and lioneye's love of fairness she was looking for the good and positive feelings which through misunderstanding had sadly lead to a fight. If I recall, she also pointed out your love of your religion. In other words, we should consider that your strong feelings regarding potential prejudice came from a good place.

of course your opinion of people is your own. It would make me sad, however, to know you mistook a friend for an enemy.

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jwhop
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From: Madeira Beach, FL USA
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posted December 18, 2006 10:34 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for jwhop     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
If there's a more even tempered and non confrontational member at LindaLand than Juniperb I don't know who it would be.

On the other hand DD, your charges of racism, your support for groups which can only be defined as terrorists, your constant screech, whine, howl and shrieking against the United States, your refusal to accept the majority opinion of Iraqi citizens who voted about 70% in favor of representative government, your overt support and excuse making for Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other terrorist groups who deliberately attack civilian populations and your support and excuse making for groups inside Iraq who deliberately attack civilians, including women and children; could only be considered non confrontational in a society of lunatics.

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juniperb
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From: Blue Star Kachina
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posted December 18, 2006 02:34 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for juniperb     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Daydreamer, You do indeed have one fact correct... juniperb does fear.

She fears the ignorance of those extremists who hide behind God/Allah to commit the slaughter of people and civilizations.


They come in many disguises:

Christian extremists...

Muslim extremists...

Jewish extremists....
and so forth.

I do not make a distinction between them. To me, an extremist ( in this specific discussion), is an ignorant Human Being who puts the face of God/Allah and their Holy Texts on their destructive agenda.

It is not the Christian, Jew or Muslim Faith that I fear but the extremest who perverts their said Faith.

That is MY Belief.

Does that provide clarity?

juniperb

------------------
~
What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world is immortal"~

- George Eliot

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juniperb
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From: Blue Star Kachina
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posted December 18, 2006 02:55 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for juniperb     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Daydreamer,
tinks comprehension of the message/post was correct. The statement made to you was a message from a Friend

quote:
DayDreamer, an Inspiration for you from a Friend,

Salam sister,

Your deen is the deen of peace and reconciliation. You know this, your heart experiences this. Why then do you war with yourself through the people? If your iman is weak, it is not the fault of the wise or the ignorant. If your iman is strong, there is nothing to say to the wise or the ignorant. Find the weakness in yourself, cure it and you will come to peace with yourself and thus to peace with others.

Waalaykum salam sister, and may the Peace and Blessing of the Holy Prophet live in your heart and your actions. Amin.


Dislike the message or the messenger, it`s of little difference to me. I complied with a request from a Friend...

juniperb

------------------
~
What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world is immortal"~

- George Eliot

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DayDreamer
unregistered
posted December 18, 2006 06:04 PM           Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Does that provide clarity?

You miss the point entirely.


And that "inspiration" you posted for me did not inspire me because that had no relevance to what was being discussed at the time.


Why didnt you compile one for lioneye or pidaua...they needed it more than I did.

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juniperb
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From: Blue Star Kachina
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posted December 18, 2006 06:52 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for juniperb     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Daydreamer,
I agree the "point was missed entirely"!

You blur the lines between two separate conversations/posts.

quote:
I complied with a request from a Friend...


quote:
Why didnt you compile one for lioneye or pidaua...they needed it more than I did.


Did I say I compiled anything?

This is a perfect example of emotional interference between objective comprehension and subjective comprehension... which is why I won`t engage with you in this self defeating type of behavior you are insisting upon..

juniperb

------------------
~
What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world is immortal"~

- George Eliot

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lotusheartone
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posted December 18, 2006 07:00 PM           Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote

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DayDreamer
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posted December 18, 2006 07:33 PM           Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
This is a perfect example of emotional interference between objective comprehension and subjective comprehension... which is why I won`t engage with you in this self defeating type of behavior you are insisting upon..

Im being quite objective.

This is not self defeating but self deflecting behaviour on your part.

Just curious why you thought I needed that "inspiration" yet you thought lioneye and pidaua didnt? YOu obviously condone the bigotry that lioneye posted or didnt see anything wrong with her posts if you didnt say anything about it, but somehow thought I was the one that needed the "inspiration."

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DayDreamer
unregistered
posted December 18, 2006 08:41 PM           Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Oh BTW Jwhop-

quote:
On the other hand DD, your charges of racism, your support for groups which can only be defined as terrorists, your constant screech, whine, howl and shrieking against the United States, your refusal to accept the majority opinion of Iraqi citizens who voted about 70% in favor of representative government, your overt support and excuse making for Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other terrorist groups who deliberately attack civilian populations and your support and excuse making for groups inside Iraq who deliberately attack civilians, including women and children; could only be considered non confrontational in a society of lunatics.

I meant everything and stand firm in everything Ive posted in the past!

And FYI America is the largest terrorist state in the world!...What does that say about yourself and your undying love for Bush and the Neo-cons.

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BornUnderDioscuri
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From:
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posted December 18, 2006 09:40 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for BornUnderDioscuri     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
And FYI America is the largest terrorist state in the world!...

Ehh id ask to reconsider...if one defines terrorist as attacking civilians then surely America hasnt done a worse job than Soviet Union (russia today) , Rwanda, Chad, Sudan etc...i mean come on...thats much of an exaggeration...US isnt out to get any civilians...

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DayDreamer
unregistered
posted December 18, 2006 09:46 PM           Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
US isnt out to get any civilians...

And I beg to differ on this point...they target native groups, particularly those that do not go along with the American agenda...just like those countries you named, where the groups of people that are targetted are people who do not abide by the leading groups' regime.

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