What is an oxymoron?

[believer]

Whoa, fellas...this was supposed to be funny. Let's not turn it into another religion bashing thread. We have enough of them already:agree:

[Primal Instinct]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Klash
[B]Al-Queda attacked America because there religion promotes intolerance. Don't become who you despise.


Like many other times in the past, the US foriegn policy makers are once again partially responsible for what ills have befallen our great nation. We tend to create our own monsters in the process of fighting others in our ambitious endeavor to secure land, trading rights, assets, etc... and do nothing to ebb the flow of their discontent which ultimately follows. We haven't learned, as we're still doing it over in Iraq in a unilateral action that has alienated even the most moderate arab states, not to mention our formerly close allies.

No doubt, there are certain religious intolerances but that is only part of the problem. It actually goes much deeper than a simple religious difference. I certainly do not condone al Qaeda actions but I do somewhat understand part of the root causes of bin Laden initially turned against the US. He was a supporter of the US up until the early 90's. He actually supported the coalition forces military actions towards Iraq during the first Gulf War. As a result, there was a very large contingent of US forces based in Saudi Arabia at this time. There were certain social mores which differed between the arab and western cultures but it wasn't a deal breaker either. However, when military actions ceased, the US still maintained many troops in the region for quite some time. This is where things started to go bad.

The US was and is a firm supporter of Saudi Arabia and the very large and corrupt ruling family- the House of Saud. They lead a very repressive form of government over its citizens and it started to become more apparent that the US remained in Saudi Arabia more as a protective measure to keep the House of Saud in power while at the same time, ensuring US oil supply and maintaining a military footprint in the region. This, coupled with the fact that as a contingency for a presence and cooperation with the arab states in the region, an Israel/Palestinian land deal was supposed to be implemented. However, either President Bush I or the Israeli leadership refused to bring the promised deal to fruition. Much of the arab population felt betrayed and further resentment towards the US grew among many regional arabs. Bin Laden was expelled from Saudi Arabia and went to live in Yemen (?) and started to gain support once again from his former ties to the Afghan fighters. He eventually started al Qaeda and went back to live with his former comrades in Afghanistan. It was here that he developed his staff and opened the camps. He openly spoke out against the Saudis and the US and began his Jihad. Terrorist incidents followed ( the near simultaneous bombing attacks on US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the USS Cole in Yemen, etc...) eventually culminating in the 9/11 attacks. During this time frame, several low-key attacks were launched on his life by President Clinton, using Tomahawk cruise missiles on at least 8 differnt occasions, missing in some cases by only 2 minutes or less.

This war on terrorism has been going on against al Qaeda for several years now, it's just that it wasn't given a label, like Bush did. Al Qaeda blows something that belongs to the US up and we bomb his training camps. This went on for years but it never happened on the continental US soil before, so it soon is forgotten by the average US citizen. Until 9/11, the circumstances didn't permit open warfare against alQaeda on a worldwide basis. Then 9/11 changed all of that and Afghanistan was the primary focus of operations. Some people claim that the previous administration didn't do anything about al Qaeda but that is mostly just a political smokescreen. The DIA, CIA, NSA, and military intel all had a lot of info and it is a simple fact that we would be so much farther behind than we are now if they weren't educated about the threats presented. Could we have prevented 9/11? Perhaps, but it is unlikely since we have such an open society. The US mainland has fallen into a sense of false security and private concerns such as the airline industry lobbied actively against upgrading safety features citing that there was no justification for the out of pocket expense. Again, things have changed and a sleeping giant has been awakened.

[Gary]

:cool:

Back to oxymorons: a compassionate conservative

[Doom]

jumbo shrimp

[Cory]

I'm tired of hearing about religion anyway...there is like 10 threads dominating the general chat forum right now on the subject....let's more on to lighter, funner topics......Like what Mrs. Puddles will be eating tonight...:rofl:

[believer]

jumbo shrimp

Good one

How about the phrase 'now, then'?

[Klash]

Originally posted by Primal Instinct
Like many other times in the past, the US foriegn policy makers are once again partially responsible...

I agree that America has aligned itself with some shady groups in the past. Although if it was not Americans the Al-Queda sunni muslims were killing it would be shiite muslims or the kurds and of course Israeli's. Why? Mainly religious difference and intolerance.

oxymoron: Holy War (I guess it depends on what you define as holy;) )

[hlcn8]

interstate highways in hawaii?
living dead...
mini-van...
safe sex... hehehehe
jumbo wienies...
flight schedule...
legal brief...
pretty ugly...
velveeta cheese...
friendly fire...
poor republican...
rap music... (hey, you can't spell 'crap' w/o rap!! j/k i'm actually fond of ALL music types w/ the exception of country and opera)
peacemaker missile
government worker
airline food
united methodist
found missing
free with purchase
cold as hell
death benefits
reverend jim baker
life insurance

that should do for now, anyone wanna add something w/o launching into a religious diatribe?!?

[Primal Instinct]

What about Econo-Suites?
Income Tax
Stealth Bomber
Mild Heart Attack ?!?
Swiss Army
Safety Hazard
Virtual Reality
Wireless Cable
Single Pair
Microsoft Works ......hahaz
Initial Results
Highway Department Laborer

[Primal Instinct]

I should include the Girl Scout cookies here...

Thin Mints....hahaz

[Racer814]

student/athlete