But I think Bush did the right thing. America has taken most of the burden to fight back against militant islam and it is the right thing to do. In candid moments, most foreignors would admit they are glad somebody is tough enough to stand up to them. As for the US, we would be happy if you went back to being like you were from 1940 to 1979 - America was great then. Considering Britain incubated most of the fanaticism, they should pay reparation payments to the US now that it is in financial troubel - that woud be honorable.

Britain, did not primarily cause the "fanaticism" associated with Muslim cultures. The US DID (along with Britain and France) by installing and/or propping up despots in Muslim countries, who oppressed all political dissent by progressive forces, relegating the remaining dissent to the mosques wherein, like in any other monotheistic religious establishments, loony ideas are promulgated. Not to blame religion solely, however; lack of political discourse and freedom will also lead almost inevitably to violence and fanaticism against the oppressors and those outside forces that prop up the oppressors.

Iran had a burgeoning democratic/socialist government, which was overthrown by the US in 1953, after which we installed the Shah, who was a nasty fellow, but he sold us oil for cheap. So what a big surprise that now the leaders of Iran don't care much for the US and want a nuclear ace in the hole -- like North Korea -- to prevent their country from again being taken over by US interests.

Ignorant and racist Americans (amongst other ignorant and racist folk) like to point to the fact that there are few if any democracies in the middle east as evidence that Arabs and Persians are culturally too immature to handle such government, when, in fact, it is the US -- and to a lesser extent some European nations -- which maintain these despotic regimes in order to insure a supply of oil to their oil-addicted death cultures.

The West also has a curious lapse of memory regarding the fact that one of the major outcomes of WWI was the breaking up of the Ottoman empire, which ruled the middle east until that time (and had for many centuries), and handing it over to a bunch of two-bit potentates who would do the West's biddings. It's hard to say how the Ottoman empire may have evolved, if left intact, but by installing a bunch of war lords as "kings" in those various territories, the West insured that more representative forms of government would not come to pass for a long time.

By the way, the Christian? West has its own fanatics. Let's not forget the only relatively recently ended struggle in Northern Ireland, Tim McVeigh and his christian milita ilk, and all the militant anti-abortionists in the US. Hitler was a Catholic and certainly used religion as well as race to scapegoat the German Jews.

And if the US were ruled by a complete dictator -- particularly one propped up by a foreign power -- who squashed all political dissent outside of churches, I bet the US would have a lot of "fanatical" Christians too.

So enough of the ignorant, bigoted -- if not downright racist -- polemics, you smug-ass American nationalists.

Squniky- you are about as ignorant as they come. The US did not incubate Islamic fanatism- there are many root causes to this - the biggest single national actor would have to be Saudi Arabia with their worldwide funding of madrassas spreading the most virulent form of Wahhabi islam to the tune of billions of dollars.

I live in the UK: I would not cut them an easy ride: they know they caused most of this stuff, but are too ashamed or cowardly to admit it (pride and all). But oh yeah, they know.

MisterPerson:

Squniky- you are about as ignorant as they come. The US did not incubate Islamic fanatism- there are many root causes to this - the biggest single national actor would have to be Saudi Arabia with their worldwide funding of madrassas spreading the most virulent form of Wahhabi islam to the tune of billions of dollars.

You obviously have much to learn about the history of the family of Saud, Britain and the United States. It's never too late to learn.

Islamic fanaticism was invented by the CIA and MI-6. Good point.