[Romantic Old Bird]

It won't have failed your notice that tomorrow, the so called leader of the western world is to be elected as President of the USA.

Staggeringly, the good people of the USA look pretty certain to re-elect Dubya. Good grief and God help us all.

The whole thing isn't helped by the fact that John Kerry looks like a haunted tree. When my 13 mth old grandson saw George W grinning like a chimpanzee on TV he started laughing and pointing. When he saw John Kerry, he looked VERY serious and said 'Oh Dear'.

Therein lies the problem. The average US voter has the dicernment of your average 13 month old.

It would appear that we are in deep 'do-do'.

So come on everybody, let's use the power of positive thought and will everyone in the US to go out and vote for a change of Government before it's too late.

If you are wondering what on earth I am talking about, watch Fahrenheit 911. Bloody terrifying.

[Sticks]

Originally posted by Romantic Old Bird
If you are wondering what on earth I am talking about, watch Fahrenheit 911. bl***y terrifying.

Also selective
Biased
Pandering to a certain agenda

The first term of a president is always campaigning for the second term. It is in the second term that you get better policies enacted.

As for the war bit, if it weren't for certain countries promising to veto a second UN resolution, and these certain countries were up to their necks in trade deals with the Saddam regime, then a second resolution could have been passed and conflict avoided as Saddam would have seen how serious the world was.

[Romantic Old Bird]

Oh Sticks, you and I will not be of one accord on this one my friend. Have you seen Saving Columbine and Fahrenheit 911?
Ever asked yourself why the white house hasn't threatened to sue for libel/slander?

It's a sad day for democracy today, and the world is a considerably MORE dangerous place.

[AndyJK]

It's a sad day for democracy today, and the world is a considerably MORE dangerous place.

It would be an even a sadder day if Moore's documentary had any influence on the result. And how is the world a more dangerous place when Al-Quedi have been active before the Iraq war? They were responsible for the deaths of several hundred people in the Bali bombings in 2002. What about Libya's announcement at destroying its WMDs? The Middle-East will always be a volitile place because of Isreal and the issue over a Palistian state.

The whole premise of Michael Moore's Fahranheit 9/11 is to suggest Bush and his administration orchestrated the 9/11 attacks to invade Iraq for oil. That's it.

It is a cunningly pieced together documentary focusing on Bush, Cheney, their Oil businesses and their relationship with certain Saudi nationals, like the Bin Laden family and Rumsfeld's dealings with Saddam during the Iraq/Iran war. Of course, it doesn't accuse any of them directly of any involvement hence why none of them can sue. It's meant to subconciously draw the viewer's mind to believe Moore's theory.

Did you notice Moore's attempt to make light of the lack of America's allies on the war on Iraq? He failed to mention Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, Italy, Spain, and instead Moore talked about Iceland, Costa Rica, Romania as America's only supporters in the coalition. He even said on the invasion of Iraq: "America will be doing much of the invading ourselves". Is that a true reflection of what occurred? What a smack in the face to our troops. And most distastefully of all, focuses on a Mother's grief of her son who died in Iraq.

We in Britain must not judge Bush purely for the way he's lampooned by satrical programmes, left-wing comedians as a "thick, Lazy, Texan" (he was actually born in Connecticut) and the Guardian newspaper. He's actually a clever man who studied at Yale and Harvard universities.

Out of both candidates, I favour more Bush. I wasn't impressed with Kerry's opening speech focuing on his glittering record as a soldier (which many ex servicemen desputed). Besides, I have conservative values so I'm usually more supportive of the Republicans anyway.

[Romantic Old Bird]

OK Andy.

However, my opinions and concerns were there long before I saw Fahrenheit 9/11 and in fact before 9/11 itself.

I was convinced that the US had appointed a gung-ho, witless man who saw his duty as fostering 'right thinking values' (ie anti-gay, anti-abortion etc) and finding an excuse to bomb I-raq for his Daddy.

Connections between 9/11 and Iraq are tenuous to say the least.

All he and regrettably we have done is further alienate and polarise the many millions of people who follow the Islamic faith.

Extremists aside, they have valid beliefs and a lifestyle which we may not fully understand but cannot condemn out of hand.

The middle east is seriously unstable and where a void appears such as it has in Iraq, it is unlikely to be filled by reason and tolerance. Saddam Hussein was undoubtedly a despotic and evil man, but the reason he was left behind in 1992 was I imagine the lack of a viable alternative. A new leader, now matter how noble, cannot be foisted upon people without due process.

Look what happened in the Baltic after the break up of the Hapsburg Empire. It's still festering now, and there are many other examples all over the world and through history.

All wars have to end up with people talking around a table, no matter how many corpses they leave behind

It is a time to learn to live with each other and heal differences.

Yesterdays election result will not have furthered this.

[AndyJK]

You have to bear in mind that Saddam had been messing around weapons inspectors for years; he was deeply untrustworthy; his psychotic sons would have taken over reign of Iraq; the Middle-East would would still be an insecure place; and thousands of innocent people would still be dying. The problem is the amount of media coverage available swaying our opinions with biased reporting. We are saturated with political commentators some of whom spout unsubstantiated conspiracy theories.

I don't believe we've aliented the Islamic faith further. This is just the kind of soundbite the left-wing media out about to sway more people against the Iraq war.

And Saddam was never a friend of the Islamic faith. He even kiled his own countrymen of the same faith and attacked strictly Islamic countries like Iran and Kuwait calling its people "dogs". A lot of Arabs disliked Saddam and pleased to see the back of him.