I'm an American living in the middle east. I've driven past demonstrations and near-riots, and seen buildings get burned down. I've driven through
towns under martial law, where every intersection had a tank and a dozen soldiers milling about.
And if you were here, you would see for yourself that the people have legitimate complaints. It IS the USA causing this, but not in the way you
think.
They want cars. They want to make more than $400/month so they can afford to get married. They want iPods and laptops. They want to dress fashionably.
They want to watch American Idol - and not last year's episodes, either.
They don't want to BE American, but they suddenly see that there is MORE, and they want it.
When I read your post, all I could think was, "if he spent two weeks here, he would realize why this doesn't make any sense". I'm not demeaning
your efforts, but in every country it's far more complicated, and people are demonstrating for REAL reasons. I thank God we are in a country where
the leader has been fair and responsive and has opened up the government. Otherwise I'd probably be evacuated out somewhere, minus all my things and
my dog.
It's not all about America pulling the strings. The problem here is that your thinking is still so American-centric. There's a whole lot of world
that gives America very little thought day-to-day.






