What the heck, let's have a political debate (let's just keep it in this thread only, though).

... and those who ran the bull dozers over the heads of childern inside the houses to wipe them out in Palistine and those who killed civilians in Vietnam and those who despite power didn't stop the Milosovich the mad dog and those who let the blood shed go on in Bosnia, and those who let Israel destroy the reactor in Baghdad that killed many civilians...... the crime list is very long.

So basically you're saying that when we went to war in Iraq or in Vietnam we're the bad guys for doing it, and when we waited "too long" to stop Milosovich we're also the bad guys? So which is it?

As I've said, the U.S. isn't perfect. We're not saints. We're not the devil, either. And, in all candor, any country that ever participates in a war is inevitably going to be blamed for some excesses or atrocities. Like they say, "War is hell." That's not justification, it's a fact.

When you make a humanly move from your side that nature likes you get a friendly move in and nature lets you win. But, when you make an evil move the hand of nature is unforgiving and you face a retaliatorymove in response.

So what is the evil move that the U.S. has engaged in to deserve the wrath of these terrorists or other extremists in the world?

Defending Israel's right to exist? Defending a Muslim country's right to exist (Kuwait)? Protecting a Muslin country (Saudi Arabia), at their invitation, because they couldn't trust their Muslim neighbors? Trying to mediate a peace process in the Middle East?

Which of these jusitifies any kind of retaliation against the U.S.? We've come to the rescue of both Israel of Muslin countries.

The America doesn't have hands clean from innocent blood, mostly of Muslims.

That's absurd. America has killed Spanish, British, German, Italian, Japanese, Mexican, French, Vietnamese, Koreans, Iraqis, and who knows how many more nationalities in 200+ years of history. We've been killed by many of those same nationalities. We are now friends and allies with most countries we've done battle with in the past.

Muslims have never been singled out by the United States, unlike some Muslim extremists who have singled out the United States as the "Great Satan."

So don't tell me the U.S. has treated Muslim countries any worse than any other country that provokes us. If Muslim countries feel persecuted by the U.S. now, they should go back and figure out why that is. And it has nothing to do with their religion.

It might have something to do with bombing our embassies. It might have something to do with blowing holes in the sides of our ships at refueling stops. It might have something to do with planting bombs in the parking garages of important buildings. It might have to do with blowing up barracks (sp?) full of our people. It might have something to do with flying commercial airlines into tall buildings.

What has recently happened is an act of nature.

An act of nature is a tornado, hurricane, earthquake. This was an act of terrorism.

Osam Bin Ladin is just a small pawn on this chess board on the side of nature.

Again, the word is "terrorist." He's a small pawn on this chess board on the side of terrorism.

This is not nature, and this is not natural. It was not ordained or endorsed by God or Allah. It was the act of terrorists who violate the very scriptures which they supposedly fight to defend.

If/when a hurricane or tidal wave destroys New York we can discuss that being an act of nature.

If he is involved in it, then its only the nature has used its small pawn to make a retaliatory move.

Nature doesn't retaliate. It is neutral. Mankind retaliates, not nature.

Sooner or later this pawn will be cut down in a move, that's not important. You cut one pawn and carry on with your evil moves against the poor countries, the nature will create millions of pawns.

Well, you yourself said it. They are poor countries. Most of these "pawns" do not have the financial resources to do the damage the current pawn did. So I'd prefer to cut down the current rich pawn and have a million poor pawns that can't do any damage.

If you want to eradicate the terror, just eradicate the evil policies, and the terror will die its own death.

That's a utopian (unrealistic) view. Besides, I again ask you what these "evil" policies are. Is it evil to defend Israel's right to exist? Or would we be considered saints if we just "delivered" Israel into the hands of the Muslims? Is that what this is about? If we don't do what the Muslim extremists want, we're evil?

Also, keep in mind, if the Middle East was capable of being stable, both ths Israelis and the Muslims, we wouldn't have to be there to at least try to stabilize the region and keep both sides from anhilating each other.

For God's sake, just think how America has planned to capture the oil of Arabs, (the most unwise people on God's earth), using the Puppet Sadam Hussein.

What? You lost me there. That must be some conspiracy theory I haven't heard yet.

That's the land where Osam belongs. His retaliation is natural.

We have captured nothing in the Middle East. We defend Saudi Arabia and Israel. BTW, Osama belonged in Saudi Arabia until his own country stripped him of his citizenship. He never belonged in Sadam Hussein's country.

Try to recall the times, (when russians were in Afghanistan), the America used to be hand in hand with Osama, and when you have rolled tanks over his mother land, he has been declared a terrorist, how funny.

We defended his motherland from Iraq. Somehow that makes us deserving of being attacked by him? Funny. If the U.S. was about to be invaded, I'd thank any country that helped defend us. Bin Laden has a funny way of thanking us.

You cannot just get absolved of responsibility just by saying 'We may not be perfect".

I'm not absolving us of responsibility. It's a statement of fact and an admission of our own shortcomings. It's also, in large part, an explanation of what our upcoming reaction will be.

Craig Steiner