American Allies
Reader comment on item: Analyst Calls for Redefinition of 'War on Terror'

Submitted by Daniel Middleman (United States), Aug 10, 2002 at 14:47

I have to disagree with you Mr Pipes about who our allies truly are. In Egypt, I've heard that virulent anti-americanism is flaunted in the press and the press is controlled by the government, is it not? Not to mention, all sorts of lies about Israel. And what about Kuwait? Did you see the report on 60 minutes? People talk about America, but this country is the epitomy of sloth and greed. What is the average workday? 2 hours or something like that. So how do these people spend their free time? Bashing America and like alot of other Muslims and Arabs, blaming us for all the world problems. Not only that, but there is also a rise in extremism there and it sounds as though the extremist are solidifying their powerbase there. I don't buy either of the two as longterm allies.

I have to somewhat disagree with you about Saddam also. If it wasn't for Al Qaeda, I don't think Sadaam would pose as much of a threat. But as we have seen, Sadaam is capable of some extremely brazen acts. He tried to assassinate former president Bush in the early 90's and I believe he would get nuclear weapons into the hands of Al Qaeda if he thought he could get away with that. It is true, as you say, that our reasoning for toppling him should be simple. Because of his violation of the agreement for inspections. But I still draw a more clear link between Saddam and the threat of future terrorism.

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