Am I the only one who thinks "blowback" Re: Egypt, Libya, Yemen?

[redgreenandblue]

We are at war openly in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and until recently in Libya. We are likely covertly at war in Syria and Somalia and other places. We literally have enemies all over the middle east and north Africa. Yet we are acting surprised when rockets hit embassies. I think the message pretty clearly reads "not fucking welcome", and has little to do with some bullshit movie that a moron made.

[aquart]

1. In Egypt, yeah. In Libya, no.

But everyone remembers 9/11 in his own way.

It is Bush's catastrophic but deliberate error to grant nation-state status to a gang of terrorists. It would be helpful if DU did not make the same error.

[lunatica]

2. Are you talking about terrorist organizations or other kind of people?

Do you think ordinary citizens of countries carry rockets around just in case they come close to an American Embassy?

[redgreenandblue]

3. There are both terrorist organizations and ordinary people who hate us.

All I am saying is that I am surprised why anyone would consider any place in the middle east or north Africa "safe" for Americans these days.

[pampango]

4. Good point. There are conservative fundamentalists in every country - including the US.

Our conservative fundamentalists and theirs realize that they are a distinct minority so they have to make their presence known by outrageous acts - either attacking a consulate with rockets or making awful but provocative films, that create more havoc than the numbers of the fundamentalists would justify.

What these fundamentalists do is hardly reflective of the attitude of the rest of society. People elsewhere should realize that Terry Jones is not indicative of what most Americans believe about Islam. People in the West should realize that 20 guys with rockets are not indicative of what people in the Middle East believe about the West.

In Libya where the West played a role in removing a dictator, people elected a moderate government and polls show a positive attitude towards the West. Not surprisingly remnants of the regime that lost power and/or fundamentalists who oppose democracy and anything short of religious totalitarianism take advantage of an inexperienced police force and military to do what they do best.

In Egypt where the West played a small (behind-the-scenes, if anything) role in removing a dictator, people elected a more religiously oriented government and polls show a negative attitude towards the West.