[Craig Jacobson]

Jonathan Hart wrote:

>The Nazis tried to take over the world by overrunning and occupying
>countries, then bending them to their will.  The US does exactly the
>same thing in an economic fashion.
>
What an ironically idiotic statement.

Let's see:  the Nazis wanted to take over the world, exterminate entire 
ethnic groups, and impose their lack-of-freedom ideology on everyone.

By some strange coincidence, Osama and his ilk want to do the exact same 
thing.

The U.S. wants people everywhere to be free and choose their own leadership.

The U.S.-bashers are worried about military action against Saddam (who 
has killed untold millions, unleashed chemical weapons against Iran, 
gassed entire Kurdish villages, invaded Kuwait, was definitely involved 
in 9/11 - terrorist Mohammed Atta met with Iraqi officials in Prague; 
and is a serial rapist besides); the Taliban (who killed untold 
millions, kept women virtual prisoners at home, threw homosexuals off of 
building tops, etc.) and Osama (no introduction needed).  All this aside 
from the fact that Saddam and al Quaeda represent real, tangible threats 
against U.S. and European lives.

So, it is not "U.S. propaganda" that villanizes the enemy as you claim. 
 It is their own murderous deeds that villanize them.

The truth is that the Nazis and Islamic extremists have more in common 
than you might realize (see 
http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110002087 for a 
great article in support of current U.S. actions)

None of this is to say that the U.S. has never made foreign policy 
mistakes.  But to make these comparisons is to be morally bankrupt.

And while I think European and U.S. colonialism is wrong, it has nothing 
to do with the current state of the countries discussed here. After all, 
Singapore was once a British colony.