Foreign countries accepting jobs/money, owe us to...

[Iamme]

...go after their citizens who are pegged as being terrorists towards us or other countries we support?

After listening to Bill O'Reilly duke it out this morning with some woman/author by the name of (last name) Bennis (sp.?), this thought for this new thread, crossed my mind.

Bill has her pegged as one of those who believes that SHE believes that we had it coming (the 9-11 attack) by our actions abroad, even though she denied that, but was caught in a trap as she admitted that she sympathized with those who feel that way.

This got me thinking that...well, doesn't practically every country on earth, like(appreciate) the involvement we have in their country with our corporate interests providing jobs to their people, or, buying their products from them (as the mass purchasers that we are, being that we are the, I believe, biggest consumer of goods on the planet)?

If THAT is true....(and if it AIN'T...how the heck were we allowed in their country to 'set up shop', so to speak?)...then it shows that the GOVERNMENTS there, accept us with open arms. Then it must come down to the relative few insurgents there who are the trouble makers, OR, perhaps some of these governments are NOT operating under the will of their people but are letting greed or fiscal responsibility dictate their decision making policies.

Regardless as to which it is...does that governement have a responsibility to us, as being their provider for work and money, that they owe us some responsibility to try to go after these trouble makers/terrorists, if they expect to keep repeaping the benefits that are country brings them?

[geni]

Originally posted by Iamme

This got me thinking that...well, doesn't practically every country on earth, like(appreciate) the involvement we have in their country with our corporate interests providing jobs to their people, or, buying their products from them (as the mass purchasers that we are, being that we are the, I believe, biggest consumer of goods on the planet)?

Maybe but you owe us a LOT of money.

[Leroy]

Originally posted by Iamme
...
This got me thinking that...well, doesn't practically every country on earth, like(appreciate) the involvement we have in their country with our corporate interests providing jobs to their people, or, buying their products from them (as the mass purchasers that we are, being that we are the, I believe, biggest consumer of goods on the planet)?



We only hear the good things our country does for others, we don't see the damage we do - to - others for power, and greed, and if you think we don't, you should do some research. We have helped, but we have done a lot of damage also. The last part isn't advertised.

[geni]

Leroy could you do us a favor and put size=1 tags on you sig. Please?

[Jon_in_london]

Originally posted by Iamme
Regardless as to which it is...does that governement have a responsibility to us, as being their provider for work and money, that they owe us some responsibility to try to go after these trouble makers/terrorists, if they expect to keep repeaping the benefits that are country brings them?

Erm, if you would like to summarise your ideas and repost them in a coherent fashion, it might help.

So basically you are saying, because you sell us KFC and buy our Jaguars we are obliged to 'go after' whosoever your goverment decides we should?

Iamme, I think that its a case of trade and trade alike and have reciprocal agreements for extradition etc... just like civilised nations should. I have no problem with that provided the agreements are reciprocal.

[Grammatron]

Originally posted by Jon_in_london


Erm, if you would like to summarise your ideas and repost them in a coherent fashion, it might help.

So basically you are saying, because you sell us KFC and buy our Jaguars we are obliged to 'go after' whosoever your goverment decides we should?

Iamme, I think that its a case of trade and trade alike and have reciprocal agreements for extradition etc... just like civilised nations should. I have no problem with that provided the agreements are reciprocal.

You mean our Jaguars, right? Last time I checked Ford owned them.

[Cain]

You mean our Jaguars, right? Last time I checked Ford owned them.

Jaguars? Last time I checked a Jaguar was just a glorified Ford Taurus.

[Jon_in_london]

Originally posted by Grammatron


You mean our Jaguars, right? Last time I checked Ford owned them.

:rolleyes:
OK then. Aston Martins. whatever.

[ceo_esq]

Originally posted by Jon_in_london


:rolleyes:
OK then. Aston Martins. whatever. Oops, also owned by Ford.

[Jon_in_london]

Originally posted by ceo_esq
Oops, also owned by Ford.

Does it make a frickin difference to the thrust of my reply to Iamme's post?

[Zep]

I'm still waiting for a clear-cut question too.

Well?

[The Don]

I'm bored of waiting for Iamme (I suspect we're on very different timezones) so I'll formulate my own question.

****

The United States is a major world power with trading relationships with countries all around the world. These countries should be grateful to the United States for providing then them with a market for their goods (because the United States is a HUGE net importer) and/or a major employer (through the U.S. owned multinationals operating in that country).

These countries have formed these relationships with the Unioted States willlingly and benefit from them considerably. Shouldn't these same countries be better at supporting the United States in its time of need by doing a better job of fighting anti-United States terrorists within their own borders ?

****

My Answer:

Each country has a duty to do the best for its own citizens. The United Kingdom's government has taken the view that supporting the United States serves its purpose because it believes:

- We're under the same type of threat as the United States
- The United States is a major ally - we owe them
- Close ties with the United States is good for UK Corp.

Other governments may feel themselves not particularly at risk from terrorism so why should they risk alienating their own populace to serve some foreign power.

One of the perceptions I'd like to correct is that the relationship with the United States is a one way street. Sure, foreign countries are doing very well out of United States consumers but equally the money being generated is being re-invested in the United States (if it wasn't there'd be a large net outflow of dollars causing the dollar to collapse). This money is invested in things like U.S. govenment bonds and the stock market.

So these ungrateful foreigners are funding the budget defecit and supporting your retirement fund. Maybe he United States should be a little more grateful that these countries are meeting your consumers' needs (avoiding riots in the streets through a lack of DVD players) providing United States workers with jobs (Toyota, BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Honda) and underpinning your economy.

Maybe the United States should spend a little more time listening to its friends before unilaterally taking action that has a profound impact on all of us.

Maybe the United States should realise that there are many more relationships out there than are apparent on the surface.

[/rant]And maybe maybe the United States should wake up to the fact that one of the reasons that people in other countries sometimes find it hard to sympathise is that sometimes the Unites States is like a teenager - it feels a sense of entitlement it hasn't earned[/rant]

[Matabiri]

Originally posted by Iamme
Regardless as to which it is...does that governement have a responsibility to us, as being their provider for work and money, that they owe us some responsibility to try to go after these trouble makers/terrorists, if they expect to keep repeaping the benefits that are country brings them?

Doesn't the US have a long history of supporting terrorist groups/bad governments/etc. around the world... it's just that it's happened to them now?

[Grammatron]

Originally posted by Jon_in_london


Does it make a frickin difference to the thrust of my reply to Iamme's post?

No, but it's fun to tell you these things because obviously you get mad :)

Originally posted by Cain


Jaguars? Last time I checked a Jaguar was just a glorified Ford Taurus.

Yes, yes it is. But it is still an improvement from when it was British owned.

[BTox]

Originally posted by Jon_in_london


Does it make a frickin difference to the thrust of my reply to Iamme's post?

I suspect Jon_in_London works for a U.S. based corporation. Probably Ford. :p

[BTox]

Originally posted by The Don
[/rant]And maybe maybe the United States should wake up to the fact that one of the reasons that people in other countries sometimes find it hard to sympathise is that sometimes the Unites States is like a teenager - it feels a sense of entitlement it hasn't earned[/rant]

Maybe, but then again, maybe not.

Maybe people in other countries should realize that we frankly don't give a damn what they think.

[The Don]

Originally posted by BTox


Maybe, but then again, maybe not.

Maybe people in other countries should realize that we frankly don't give a damn what they think.

That's fine, so long as:

- You're not trying to garner support for something among your allies
- You don't mind asking the question "why the F*** did they do that?" from time to time

[Jon_in_london]

Originally posted by Grammatron


No, but it's fun to tell you these things because obviously you get mad :)


Damn you J. Montgomery Burns!

[a_unique_person]

Originally posted by Leroy


We only hear the good things our country does for others, we don't see the damage we do - to - others for power, and greed, and if you think we don't, you should do some research. We have helped, but we have done a lot of damage also. The last part isn't advertised.

Leroy

thank you, thank you, thank you. From where I sit, the US does a lot that is good and bad. The problem for the US is that it takes ten parts good to counter one parts evil. And we have plenty of evidence for the evil acts. Maybe it will reincarnate as a worm.

[Leroy]

Originally posted by geni
Leroy could you do us a favor and put size=1 tags on you sig. Please?

Hi geni. I'm not sure how to do this. I went to edit my profile, in the signature area and put the code in (font size=1) only I used the < > then I put (/size> at the end. It didn't do anything except show up in the sig.

I need help!

[Nikk]

Originally posted by Iamme
...

This got me thinking that...well, doesn't practically every country on earth, like(appreciate) the involvement we have in their country with our corporate interests providing jobs to their people, or, buying their products from them (as the mass purchasers that we are, being that we are the, I believe, biggest consumer of goods on the planet)?

If THAT is true....(and if it AIN'T...how the heck were we allowed in their country to 'set up shop', so to speak?)...



The U.S. is far and away the world's biggest debtor and has an eye wateringly large trade deficit which you need to fund. So you had better just pray everyone keeps lending you the money you need to buy the oil to keep the gas guzzlers running, the heating on in the horribly cold bits and the air conditioning turning in the horribly hot bits.

Trade and finance is very much a two way street with benefits for everybody. It's a hard nosed business and doesn't create moral obligations.


As regards the terrorists rest assured they can survive even in the face of an unwelcoming government - as in Turkey, or indeed Iraq.

[Craig]

Leroy,

Use "[size=1]" without the inverted commas.

[Leroy]

Originally posted by Craig
Leroy,

Use "[size=1]" without the inverted commas.

I tried it that way, also with the comma's. I went to "view source" to see how you all had done it, and tried it that way. It doesn't work.

I go to "Edit Profile" and type it in front of my quote, is that how it's suppose to be done? It doesn't change the size, it simply shows up in the quote.

I've tried
then
then
[size="1"] then [/font]
[size = 1] then [/font]
[size=1] then [/font]

with the < > in stead of [ ]

Apparently I am doing something incorrect.

[Zep]

Hi Leroy,

Use [size=1] to start and ["/"size] to finish (again, no quotes).

[Leroy]

Thanks Zep.