It's one thing to say that muslim terrorists don't like us and wish to do us harm because of our foreign policy, specifically our foreign policy toward muslim nations.

It is an entirely different thing to say that Muslims are justified in hating us for our foreign policy because our foreign policy is inappropriate and unfair to radical muslims and we must change our beliefs and foreign policy so that we don't offend their delicate sensibilities.

The first notion is logical and acceptable, the latter is not.

If Ron Paul is not onboard with the killing of all radical jihadist muslims but would rather go to group therapy with them and Dr,. Phil, then he is in no way fit to be our leader.

Oh and it goes without saying that the American military should make that scumbag Adam Ghadan a "target of opportunity" and take him the very first chance they get. No questions, no trial, just a bullet in the head.

Archconservative: They hate us for our government's foreign policy. It has meddled in the middle east for over 50 years, supporting dicators, overthrowing democratically elected leaders, enforcing embargoes that have killed hundreds of thousands of innocent people, etc. If they hate us for our government's policies, they probably have every right.
If you actually read the "demands," you'll note that the speaker is demanding that our government get out of his (and other) muslim countries. Is this unreasonable? Our government has no right to be there, after all, this is not the United States of the World. He is demanding that they be left to run their own countries. Again, is this unreasonable?
Our government's ham-handed attempts at running the world have made us hated. This should be anticipated. Indeed, the CIA has named the inevitable reactions "blowback" and has long expected that we would be attacked for our government's actions overseas. The typical American has no idea what our government has been doing in our names (or worse yet, as in the case of Archconservative, knows but believes our government has the right to do whatever it wants...regardless the damage it does to innocent people). Then the reaction we get seems inexplicable when infact it should have been expected.
Ron Paul pointed out what the CIA, the 9/11 report, and our military has been writing about for years: they hate us for our foreign policy. Mr. Paul is saying: if our government changes its' foreign policy, Americans will become more secure. That's essentially what Mr. Gadahn is saying.
Ron Paul got it right. If our government left the rest of the world alone, we Americans would not be so hated and would not have to worry about having so many enemies. That is not to say that they will all love us, and it is not to say that some nut-job won't try to do us harm anyway, but we will greatly reduce the volume and depth of hate if we stop doing stuff to them.

"Apparently it is not enough just to alter or foreign policy, we now have to alter our domestic policy. It is important to note, he is not only referring to those being detained at Guantanamo, he is demanding the release of all Muslims from our prisons."

This is part of a popular strawman argument insinuating that Ron Paul said that we must concede to all of the demands of al Qaeda. He said nothing of the sort.

What he did say (and has elaborated on frequently) is that we should listen and know the reasons we were attacked. According to CIA experts on that issue, we were attacked because of our foreign policy. Ron Paul was right.

Thus, frivolous military interventions that provide us with NO security benefit (Read: Gulf Wars I and II, Somalia, Lebanon, Vietnam and a host of others) but put us in danger, should be scrapped. Paul never suggested we should refrain from exercising our rights and our own domestic policy.

American foreign policy should be about protecting Americans. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the goal of our current rampant interventionism, which continually puts us in increasing danger.

Don't any of the interventionists find it odd that when American military power reached its peak, with garrisons stationed all over the globe, we suffered the WORST attack on American civilians in our nation's history?

Our current foreign policy of intervention is just another failed government program and should be discarded with haste.

Many in the United States hated the Taliban because of their disdain for human rights and their treatment of women, but that did not cause us to attack them. It took an act of war -- the events of 9/11 -- before we acted.

Likewise, those in the Middle East may hate us for our non-Islamic ways, but I seriously doubt they would commit suicide attacks strictly on that basis. If we were not seen as invading their countries, they would be far less likely to attack us -- and if they decided they must attack an infidel for some reason, they'd probably choose an enemy closer to home, like the French.

Hindsight being perfect, what we should have done was reduce the entire fucking area to molten glass 30 years ago. End of problem. These vermin have been fighting each other & everybody else since the beginning of time, compounded by Dubya's arrogance, greed, & incompetence. Between their barbarity & Bush's stupidity & gluttony for controlling world oil supplies, we're Public Enemy #1 worldwide, & not just with muslims.

It would certainly help if we could somehow manage to elect a president with a knowledge of history, an understanding of diplomacy, a realistic worldview, and an attention span greater than a second-grader who loves to play cowboy.

But Lee, if a guy is Inspired By God he doesn't need to know history, understand diplomacy, be realistic, etc.

Then maybe God needs to read up on these subjects. Oh wait. He can't read because he doesn't exist.

Dave

There is no point to attempt to pursuade people who are ignorant of the US foreign policy history in the Middle East. Before us, it was the Europeans who exploited their land.

Fact: They hate us because we are over there (on there land) and we continually interfere with their contries because we need the oil. In the past we have done this, and we presently are doing this. Instead of waking up on 9.11, we have continued down the same path that caused 9.11.

There is no point to attempt to explain to people that it might be us who is at fault here and is the cause of this hatred when Americans are so ignorant of the US historic involvment over there. The people over there, due to the European and US actions, are very skepticle of the West. I do not blame them because I am aware of history. America is getting dumber by the moment and we are doomed. Sorry to inform. You can't talk sense to people who don't want to except that maybe, just maybe, we might be the cause of the problem, and that we will have to change our ways (i.e. find alternative to oil; stop overthrowing governments; stop supporting dictators) in order to be truely secure. I'm sure this will go right over the head of the majority of Americans. It is somewhat sad.
WAKE THE F*CK UP PEOPLE

what we should have done was reduce the entire fucking area to molten glass 30 years ago. End of problem.

Sure. And the USSR and China would have just sat around and watched while we did it. In your dreams.

Way to cite another (probably) phony Al-Qaeda tape to denigrate and discredit a truly respectable public servant.

Ron Paul has pledged to uphold the constitution, and
his voting record CONFIRMS this!

Don't think for a second that people haven't noticed that while Ron Paul is working to preserve our rights, Bush and Co. have done their very best to eliminate the Constitution.

also, worst blog ever.

In my opinion, Ron Paul was right about why we're hated. I've listened to and read as much as I can from him and about him.

It's unfortunate that he doesn't stand a chance at winning the nomination or the election. The media will see to that. There is no real truth in reporting anymore, at least, not at the national network level... Follow the money... It's no coincidence that G.E., one of the largest defense contractors and benefactors of the Iraq "war" also owns NBC.

The simple (though unpleasant) fact is, we did NOT attack Iraq because of 9/11. Bush and the rest had been looking for something that would eliminate the public resistance to the war, so that we could go over there and 'pee on the oil reserves tree.' With the pending depletion of the remaining oil and gas resources, and the growing demand (due in large part to China's increasing need for petroleum products) the powermongers know that the only way to control the world is to control the oil.

One other thing... I'm not sure exactly what I believe about 9/11, but I know what I DON'T believe, which can be found in the 9/11 Commission Report... That's all a load. Consider this, though. Who's benefitting from the war? Once you can establish that, I think you can figure out what really happened on 9/11, and who is REALLY responsible.

The growing cowardice of the people is amazing. Gee, who knew that creating an entitlement state would lead to this? The more troubling aspect is that most Republicans are now social engineering liberals (ie. Neo-Conservatives). There's no sugnificant difference between Neo-Cons and Dems...Heck, Hillary and Rudy G should have a baby and let IT be president. There wouldn't be any noticable difference. Such are the lies we are fed.

Ron Paul in 2008! Not that honesty matters to most people anymore, but it matters to me and Dr. Paul is an honest man who will stand up for the Constitution rather than trying to tear it down. He's the best candidate to come along in my lifetime and never have we needed one so badly. Thanks!

Ron Paul has more wisdom, knowledge, insight, understanding, compassion, reasonablity, sensibility, intellegence, and most importantly for a public servant, accountability- than any other presidential candidate available today including anyone blogging on this site. Unfortunately, the U.S. population is not only uniformed, it is intentionally mis-led. People are quite simply brainwashed. This brainwashing is evident in the few number of people who actually understand what the Constitution says and more importantly means. The U.S. population is so brainwashed it consistantly refuses or is simply unable to listen to the truth when it is being told. U.S. society and the people in it have become manufactured all the way down to the length of their attention span. Manufactured society is more interested things that are manufactured rather than the natural order of life. The natural society says 'so long as I dont hurt anyone-it's OK'. The manufactured society says 'so long as I am having fun-it's OK'. Ron Paul is more interested in preventing people from being hurt than having fun. Until enough people (or voters) take responsibility for their own apathy and become more informed, the people will continue to elect mis-informed, manufactured public servants who are more interested in having fun rather than elect a man who wants to protect our liberties as he swore an oath to do.

Listening is NOT the same as appeasing.

This tiresome canard (as well as the outright lie told by Michelle Malkin, et alia, that Dr. Paul believes that 9/11 was a false flag event) has been soundly rejected in many other online forums lately but it bears repeating here.

Only a fool fails to listen to his enemy. Only an imbecile thinks there is no consequence to sticking our nose in other people's business.

Dr. Paul was neither justifying the attacks of 9/11 nor was he saying that we should do anything and everything our enemies demand in order to prevent a repeat. This is a vicious libel, and a sad strawman.

We should pull our troops out of Saudi Arabia and many other countriies around the world, not because Osama demands it, but because it is a waste of our treasure and our troops. Treasure and troops that would be much, much better spent going after Osama Bin Laden himself, as Dr. Paul has repeatedly suggested.

Dr. Paul was the ONLY congressman to put forth a resolution for a real declaration of WAR after the events of 9/11.

In this age of "plausible deniability" many others in Congress wanted to shift their duty, and their responsibility, to the President, despite the fact that there is no Constitutional authority to do so.

Dr. Paul also submitted a bill authorizing the President to issue letters of Marque and Reprisal. Another completely Constitutional method for dealing with attacks by [air] pirates.

To suggest that this patriot, this honorable man, is an appeaser is defamation of the lowest order.

I'm a registered Republican, and I will be supporting the Honorable Ron Paul, as he supports more of the GOP platform than any other declared candidate.

In this matter, I am proud to stand with the United Republicans of California (UROC) in their support of Dr. Paul.

So how should this be handled? Our military soldiers should continue to die on a daily basis in a war that few of them believe in? Or maybe continue to pull money out of thin air and continue to allow the deficit to climb and the value of the dollar drop? We can't even take care of our own country and borders, let alone ones thousands of miles away in countries that don't want us there.

If you honestly believe that our foreign policy has nothing to do with the hostility and anger towards the US then perhaps you are a bit naive.

A vote for Ron Paul is a vote for liberty, and thats something everyone from every religion (or lack thereof) can support.

I watched the video. It was an interesting lesson in how the American leader should be addressed; have to file that away, mentally - you never know...

There was only one demand that interested me. I've been calling for the end of American interference in Israel for a long time, so I understand the first part. But the underlined part in bold caught my attention... An enforced ban on Jewish emigration to the homeland would hurt.

"End all support moral, military, economic, political or otherwise to the bastard State of Israel and ban your citizens, Zionist Jews, Zionist Christians and the rest from traveling to occupied Palestine or settling there."

It would not surprise me if the American gov't did just that in the near future.

Everyone should understand this. This video was not a fake; it was real, and it was an ultimatum. From it, it should be clear to all of you. It is you - or them. THERE IS NOTHING TO NEGOTIATE.

Something I've been telling you this for quite some time now.

Have a great weekend guys!

Ron Paul was correct. Read his "Educating Rudy Reading List", available from Amazon, if you are having difficulty grasping the concepts. And I agree with the comment that this blog is the worst ever. It's ripe with ignorance, and misconstrued points. Don't quit your day job.

Danny and others are missing the point which Ruvy almost makes clear, but doesn't quite state.

YES our foreign policy is a major contributing factor to hostility towards us.

But it is NOT our invasion of Afghanistan. It is NOT our invasion of Iraq. It is NOT our hard line towards Iran. It is NOT our attempt to hunt down al Qaeda. None of these things is the reason they hate us. These are all things they understand. These are all things many of them may even tacitly approve of. They understand the need to use force in dealing with one's enemies.

The one foreign policy issue which they bring up again and again and have since before our various neocon escapades is our support for Israel. Merely acknowledging and accepting the existence of that state is enough for us to be hated. They launched a decades-long terror campaign against Egypt and killed their president just for acknowledging the right of Israel to exist, and we've done far more than that.

Dave

I thought it was rather more that it is clearly within the power of the USA to force a valid state for the Palestinians but they refuse to do so. Hence the country is seen as supporting Israel in it's current stance. Seems hard to argue with really, although I'm sure there are many partizans who will...

Nallecon says...

"They launched a decades-long terror campaign against Egypt and killed their president just for acknowledging the right of Israel to exist"

Not quite.

Read your history.

Sadat was killed because he agreed to a separate peace with Israel. That left the Palestinians high and dry -- where they have remained to this day because of numerous US vetoes in the UN Security Council. In most cases the US is the only country in the world that supports the positions of the Israeli government in its efforts to occupy, subjugate and eventually drive the Palestinians from their homeland. Palestinians who resist are either killed or imprisoned.

Menachem Begin knew what he was doing when he agreed to a peace deal with Egypt. Israel returned barren desert land to Egypt and in return got a free hand to occupy and build settlements on West Bank land. It should be obvious that occupying and settling West Bank land was the primary reason Israel started the 1967 war.

Then Israel got US taxpayers to foot the bill for building their illegal settlements in the West Bank. Although the US government tried to claim it was a "neutral third party," the people of the Middle East weren't' fooled.

---

"and we've done far more than that."

Yup.

That's the understatement of the past 50 years.

It should be clear that if not allowed to fester, the hatred that has built up would not be there now. And like any festering wound, it is more difficult to cure now.

Read your history and you will begin to understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the complicity of the US government in perpetuating the repeated injustices perpetrated on the Palestinian people. In turn, that has been behind most of our problems in the Middle East.

We have waited until the hatred built up over decades resulted in attacks on innocent Americans to get our attention. The neocons now claim attacks against Americans will go on for decades. That will be true an long as neocons control the government.

What is happening is Blowback -- and it doesn't happen in a vacuum.

Yet, the neocons persist in their arrogance. It is a true showing of their stupidity and contempt for the safety of the American people.

Ron Paul......Ron Paul.....

I'm so sick of hearing about this guy.

I say we lock Ron Paul in a room with a drunken Zell Miller for 3-5 hours. If Ron Paul makes it out alive he can be president. If not everyone has to shut the fuck up about Ron Paul forever.

Deal?

I don't even know who Ron Paul is and I'm getting sick of hearing his name

This is still your practice session.

Get used to it.

Ignorance is not an excuse.

Charles,

We are not unique in allowing our population to believe in whatever faith they want to believe in.
There are hundreds of countries (most) around the world that do the same thing. Were you serious?

If that was the crime, an attack on the least powerful would make sense.

It is our foreign policy.