[Godstud]

It was never a lovely place in 400 years, we just tried to give them a chance.

Just keep lying to yourself. You're only reinforcing what Tainari88 yes said.

Probably in next 20 years the Iraqis will be very thankful, or should be for the chance they got because of our initiative.

Iraq is worse off than before the US invaded, and they are one million people fewer, as well. The only person waving a US flag is Americans, not Iraqis.

No they are making money, and using resources properly.

They are not your resources to use, and you do so by effectively stealing from them.

Its not their fault they deal with corrupt inept leaders of loser countries.

Yes, it is their fault. They make a conscious choice to deal with these leaders and pay them enough so that they can do what they want.

Note: I see you call anything that isn't US, a "loser country" Typical ignorance.

Well when the Fiji Islands have air craft carriers, perhaps I will change my opinion.

You imply that a country like Fiji NEEDS an aircraft carrier? They aren't imperialist cocksuckers who want to run around invading other countries so they can glut their capitalist greed on their natural resources. What does making an aircraft carrier matter, anyhow?

The oxymoron yardstick of civilization: "Have they got an aircraft carrier yet?"

All this is just typical American bravado with no thought, whatsoever, to what other people might think. As long as people in the US think like this, the US will have a shitty image.

[OllytheBrit]

Improve our image?

Like rebuilding our fallen enemy?
Like being first on the scene of any world catastrophe with help (Haiti, South Asia after tsunami)
Being number one source of world charity
Creating technology that helps everyone live longer.....

We do not need to improve our image, fuck the haters because every hater hates success and power. We should concentrate on maintaining our power, and fuck what anyone thinks about us,.

Moderating vulgarised arrogance would be a good thing too! Calm down dear!

I've been admirer of the US all my life, and for those very reasons; but I'm afraid it's all changed since the GWB era onwards; nowadays I get the impression now that every gesture of 'charity' is a cynically calculated move for US advantages, including commercial exploitations - think Big Macs and Starbucks.

[skeptic-1]

Re: It was never a lovely place in 400 years, we just tried to give them a chance .(oxymoron)

In Your dreams !

IMO We lost it all with Vietnam !

[Tainari88]

Skeptic-1
Yes, all these things are true but we are decendents of the greatest of the finest teachers in that art. England,France,Germany,Spain etc. The Christian World :-)

Capitalism is our enhanced version of the animal world "survival of the fittest" by (unfortunately) imperfect osmosis.

Nothing happens 'till somethings sold". Without "profit" as an unwatered flower we would perish

Skeptic you must know capitalism wasn't the 'natural' state of the world at all in the past. In fact, many people disliked the concept completely. Including slave owner states and feudal states. Capitalism streamlined production and instead of slaves they use wage labor. People have survived thousands upon thousands of years without capitalism. It is not the flower that will never perish. What capitalism is about is economics. Period. Built into those economics are power relationships between groups such as owners and workers. If a worker doesn't want to work for a capitalist owner he has the choice and the right to end the relationship and seek out the employment of another capitalist. Hopefully one who would pay him more than the last capitalist boss he had so he can buy more mass produced stuff and pump more profits based on consumption into the capitalist machine of economic activity. If a worker can negotiate high wages and high benefits from his capitalist boss then most will settle in to that relationship and try to keep their positions as workers. But it rarely works if they are not highly organized in some way in which the capitalist feels compelled to concede more profit margins to the worker. It is a power play system that is based on who owns the most money and the means of productions and credit and capital and who strictly owns nothing and must sell their labor to survive and pay their monthly bills. That is the base of the entire relationship. It is not the wonderful perfect system it is billed to be by capitalist people in power.

There are models based on economic activity that is highly superior to capitalist production methods. Most work on cooperative models in which there is no single owner or small elite group of shareholders. All the workers are the owners and together they create a cooperative model and share equally in any profit and it is evenly distributed to the workers in the form of better wages, conditions, investments and rights and benefits. Most decisions are made in large groups with the consent of the workers who are co-owners of all the production. Competition is regulated if at all allowed and people actually raise their job security and living standards to heights that they never could have hoped for under traditional top down capitalistic models. Manipulating government politicians and spending money making sure elites are happy is also not allowed. You take care of government officials who are corrupt and oust them fast if they are bled dry of all these 'slush' funds and lobbyist shit they delve into on a daily basis.

Capitalist models are really old and inefficient and will create crisis. Guaranteed. But, if people don't understand how it works? They are bound to fall for all the crap that is out there touting it as the greatest thing since sliced bread. Not realizing it is burnt toast and molded crap and not consumable for health on a long-term basis. But, humans have a bad habit of wanting to beat a dead horse thinking that if it is not working for the masses but works for some tiny group of elites then by golly----we are going to keep it! To hell with scrapping something that creates imbalance, artificial scarcity, keeps labor idle on purpose and resources controlled without any thought to what is most needed for the good and well being of the entire planet and not on a small circle of people in many nations.

The USA needs to not only improve their image--they need to tame the beast that it has become before the matador arrives and gives it its final blow and then leaves a vacuum that the Fascists would love to fill! Bloody wars for basics such as water rights and food and territory will soon follow a fascist take over of the nations.

[OllytheBrit]

Iraq is worse off than before the US invaded, and they are one million people fewer, as well. The only person waving a US flag is Americans, not Iraqis.

For the stability of the region, the job had to be done; the mistake wasn't doing it, but not getting out tout de suite afterwards. Saddam should have been asked - begged if necessary - to resume his rule, but warned that he'd be under constant scrutiny. Too late now!