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Read your words!Reader comment on item: How Many Muslims in the United States? Submitted by Discouraged (United States), Jul 5, 2007 at 09:30 First of all, thank you for presenting a rational discussion rather than just condemning. I would like to say that I am proud to be American. My argument is not against America. It is against those whose actions give America a bad name. Now, for the rest of your comments: YOUR COMMENT: "Was it because, taking into consideration the unanaminous opinion of the world's intelligence agencies that Iraq was developing weapons of mass destruction (which were used against Iran and the Kurds in N Iraq), we decided (in a post 9-11 world) to take action against Saddam?" MY RESPONSE: You mention several times "9-11". I remember waking upon 9-11-2001. I turned on the radio as I was preparing to go to my university classes for the day. I head someone say "The second tower has just fallen!". I listened a bit more, thinking it was a publicity stunt. When it dawne don me that this was real, I just kept changing the stations trying to get more news. I called my father at work, and asked him what was going on. He told me what was happening, and told me to stay home from classes today. He was worried that there would be an attack on my university campus. I was scared. Who would do this? Relatively soon we had a suspect: Bin Laden. Everyone had a place to turn their agression. Anyone who looked middle eastern, including an Indian Sikh killed outside his gas station for "looking" middle eastern. We entered Afganistan to find Bin Laden, unsuccessfully. Now, who were we to hate? Who were we to blame and look at rather than looking at our own internal problems? Well, let's look at Iraq! Let's condemn a society to civil war, familial displacement, destroyed infrastructure. In the mean time, let's more than double the number of people killed by the senseless violence on 9-11 by putting our troops into this broken down society. Then, let's not give them the tools they need to defend themselves, invite corrupt corporations to come over and "clean up" the oilfield mess we created and then have bipartisan arguments over whether or not to continue funding our young generation that we sent to fight someone else's battle. Sounds like a great idea! But wait...isn't this about Bin Laden? Isn't that why we originally invaded Afghanistan? YOUR COMMENT: "It never ceases to amaze me that the same people worldwide who complain about America want to come to our country." MY RESPONSE: You're right. They do want to come to the US. Look at the glamorous life that is thrown all over the TV'S, however unrealistic. Also, they can make 10 to 20 times more here, with no skills, over what they can make at home! YOUR COMMENT: "Remember, 9-11, the 7-7-05 attacks in London, the beheadings, the suicide bombings, the hateful speeches of Imams living in the West against the very society they live in" MY RESPONSE: Of course I remember all of those things. However, If you have read all of my post, I also remember the rapes, the murders, the corporate corruption, the forgiveness of the law for celebrities, the child abuse...i could go on and on...that occurs everyday right in our own back yards. YOUR COMMENT: "I know that there are many decent Muslims who just want to live their lives in peace, but who will deal with the haters and the murderers who do their deeds in the name of Islam? The fact is that Muslims worldwide have to clean up their own back yard..." MY RESPONSE: You are right. That is MY POINT! If they want to kill each other, let them do it! That is their choice. Someday, when a group finally has enough of the abuse, they will rise up and overthrow the abuser! Who are we to presume to do that for them? That is the also point of foreigners who complain that America is arrogant. If countries that are primarily Muslim don't like their society, they would change it. Obviously that is their way. Who are we to come in and say "The American Way" is better than yours, so change yourselves? YOUR COMMENT: "We did not start this war." MY RESPONSE: Really? Then I'm not sure which war to which you are referring. Who invaded Afghanistan? Who invaded Iraq?
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