My father sent me this, it's quite a read, but any of you serious soapboxers, like myself, I'm sure will enjoy it. I've been pretty much against the Iraq war for a long time now. But it is always great to read something like this, to place my rationale in check and try to get a broader view and maybe change opinions.

http://www.superfactory.com/articles/meyer_what_in_the_world.htm

5/29/2008 9:50:02 PM

i'd give that a c+/b-

5/29/2008 9:58:57 PM

lol i'd give it a B+ to A-

5/29/2008 10:05:29 PM

That is the most pathetically researched piece of unadulterated bullshit I've read in a long time, and I'm not kidding . It would be nice to see references, maybe some footnotes on where this loser is getting his data.

Quote :

"Islam, which developed in the 7th century, counts millions of Moslems around the world who are normal people. However, there is a radical streak within Islam. When the radicals are in charge, Islam attacks Western civilization. Islam first attacked Western civilization in the 7th century, and later in the 16th and 17th centuries. By 1683, the Moslems (Turks from the Ottoman Empire) were literally at the gates of Vienna. It was in Vienna that the climatic battle between Islam and Western civilization took place. The West won and went forward."

Funny how he forgot to mention the Crusades.

This dumbass knows zilch about the situation.

F-

[Edited on May 29, 2008 at 11:44 PM. Reason : ]

5/29/2008 11:43:58 PM

Quote :

"About Herbert Meyer Herbert Meyer served during the Reagan administration as special assistant to the Director of Central Intelligence and Vice Chairman of the CIA’s National Intelligence Council. In these positions, he managed production of the U.S. National Intelligence Estimates and other top-secret projections for the President and his national security advisers. Meyer is widely credited with being the first senior U.S. Government official to forecast the Soviet Unions collapse, for which he later was awarded the U.S. National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal, the intelligence community's highest honor. Formerly an associate editor of FORTUNE, he is alsothe author of several books."

5/30/2008 8:26:01 AM

Overall it's a good read. He made a lot of good points, and his list of key issues hit the mark for the most part. It's good that we're talking about these issues NOW instead later...

That said, I took issue with a few things:

Quote :

"The lesson of 9/11 is that we live in a world where a small number of people can kill a large number of people very quickly... That means our tolerance for political horseplay has dropped to zero. No longer will we play games with terrorists or weapons of mass destructions. "

Fine, so long as we understand that these sentiments don't justify hasty decisions and poor planning when deciding how to DEAL with said terrorists and WMDs.

Quote :

"Most of the instability and horseplay is coming from the Middle East. That’s why we have thought that if we could knock out the radicals and give the moderates a chance to hold power, they might find a way to reconcile Islam with the modern world. So when looking at Afghanistan or Iraq, it’s important to look for any signs that they are modernizing. For example, women being brought into the workforce and colleges in Afghanistan is good. The Iraqis stumbling toward a constitution is good. People can argue about what the U.S. is doing and how we’re doing it, but anything that suggests Islam is finding its way forward is good. "

Yeah, we've heard this rhetoric before... and yes, it is good to see Iraqis and Afghans moving towards modernization and democracy. These gains however can easily be negated if it causes you to, say, bankrupt your country or generate more terrorists due to overall incompetance.

Quote :

"Why are the birthrates so low? There is a direct correlation between abandonment of traditional religious society and a drop in birth rate, and Christianity in Europe is becoming irrelevant. "

I'm a practicing Catholic, so I'm not bashing religion when I say this - The correlation is with traditional religious society. Smaller towns with low taxes and plentiful land make having children worthwhile. Adherence to religion is a byproduct of this lifestyle, but it's not the underlying cause.

5/30/2008 3:01:19 PM

So wait, China is first moving people to cities, then trying to find jobs for them?

Did I read that wrong? Shouldn't it be the other way around?

5/30/2008 3:30:08 PM