[benebob]

Yes Jeff an eye for an eye has been done to death. It only results in more dead. There is no right answer in regards to what happened on Sept 11th but how many other innocent people must die in the name of revenge? I'm sure that over 3000 INOCENT Afghans went to an early grave in the name of freedom. An supreme isolationist additude will not help us in this type of world. It will only continue to errode what credibility we have left. Yes I am quite liberal in some aspects but then again I don't resort to classifying others with different views than mine. EVERYONE is entitled to his/her opinion and I feel that the facts are there to support my beliefs otherwise I simply would remain quite until I have the facts. It is doubtful that there would be a Saddam Hussein in power if it wasn't for us. It is likewise doubtful that BinLadin would be around or nearly as strong today had we not abandoned the Afgans after we stopped another domino. To me it doesn't matter what method of weapon is used the end result is the same someone will be dead.

Responsible enough not to use them? We produced chemical weapons for both sides during WWI before we entered the war and then after entering the war we had to quams about using them. Up until the late 70s we were developing and testing (there are documented cases that testing was done on our own militiary personnel) both chemical and bio weapons. You must also remember that even if every country in the world had an equal gross domestic product the U.S. would still be the largest supplier of weapons in the world. Obviously, if we are producing such weapons and supplying them to other countries some of these weapons are going to get into the wrong hands. Heck we can't even keep weapons out of the hands of criminals in our own country despite having more laws on the books than any other country limiting the sale of guns.

I am an American and I am proud to be an American but I like everyone else on this board is a human being first. If there was no America we would still be human beings and I treat every other person like a human being. The whole point of the UN is that it is an organization of human beings (flawed just as everything that involves people) that is designed to settle disputes and act as a governing body of all nations. To disrespect the UN is to disrespect the rights and beliefs of all other nations and human beings that might not agree with your ideals.

Just as you say that the world relies on America. America relies on the world even more. When was the last time you thanked the South Korean sneaker maker for your last pair of shoes?

As someone who poccesses a BA degree in History and a Masters Degree in History with an emphasis on Middle Eastern Studies I feel quite qualified as far as the basis for the facts that I have laid down in regards to this conficted region of the world and would be more than happy to provide sources for an and all of the facts which I have presented.