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An Open Letter to Islamic Terrorists

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You who deal in death and destruction;
You who murder in your god’s name;
Women, children, it doesn't matter to you
Who you slaughter, torture and maim.

Well, I’ve got a message for you from America,
Something you’re probably too deluded to know.
Afghanistan and Iraq are just the beginning.
We’ll hunt you all down wherever you go.

You say you have a gripe with our government.
You don’t like who we’re friends with or why.
But trying to intimidate us with violence
Just guarantees that you’re all gonna die.

I mean, what the hell were you thinking?
Did you think Americans would back down?
Did you think we'd live in fear of you?
You ridiculous, pathetic, fanatical clowns.

We’ll find you in every rathole you hide in.
We’ll fight you scumbags any time, any place.
And the last sight you’ll ever see in this world
Will be a U.S. soldier kicking you in the face.

What is it like to spend years in a cave?
You know, it’s all pretty funny in a way –
Trying to pretend you’re fierce warriors
While you're hiding and running away.

You must really be living the good life
With no toilets or showers in that hole.
At least now you match, inside and out -
Your body stinks as much as your soul.

It's strange, I thought we'd hear more from you
After your cowardly sucker punches back in 2001.
What have you been doing since way back then?
It must be hard to light a fuse while you run.

Your pathetic little threats don’t impress us.
America’s wiped out your kind of evil before.
It’s dirty work but hey, someone’s gotta do it.
You’re nothing special.  You’re just one more.

And don’t be encouraged by those few, sad Americans
Who look for excuses for the things you have done;
Who think you’re just poor, misunderstood romantics
Who had no choice left but to pick up a gun.

The American people are very compassionate
And some may have supported your cause before.
But now the only thing we have learned from you
Is the difference between terrorism and war.

Yes, I know that you don’t make that distinction.
To raving lunatics like you, terror’s only a word.
But we've killed many tyrants and you'll die, too
When again, civilized people thin out the herd.

There's moral violence that makes this world better.
It’s the exact opposite of what you terrorists do
And the only reason peace never lasts very long
Is that it's always disrupted by psycho's like you.

You say America’s policies in the Middle East
Have filled you with outrage and despair
And that you can see no other alternative
To improving the situation over there.

We shouldn't even have to bring freedom to you -
Believe me, there are better things we could do
But your corrupt religious and political leaders
For centuries, have done nothing but lie to you.

Why do you think they only allow one source of news
And then proceed to control everything it puts out?
And like sheep, you gobble up everything you're fed.
It's wise, not anti-Muslim, to question and doubt.

Here's something I'd like you to try to explain -
Only one of forty-seven Muslim countries is free.
Seven are among the world's ten most inhumane!
But we're "The Great Satan"? Sorry, I must disagree.

And even if all your accusations were true
And you’re the victim that you claim to be,
How do you think indiscriminate bloodshed
Will help to set you and your people free?

You see, there have been better people than you
Who changed the world without killing a thing.
Their names were Jesus, Buddha, Gandhi,
Teresa, Kennedy, Malcolm, and King.

And as much as I love the idea of pacifism,
You maniacs leave us no choice but to fight
If we don't fight and, God forbid, you prevail,
The world will be trapped in one eternal night.

I’ve been witness to your version of justice -
Children beheaded on their way to school
And women jumping from burning buildings
Because of acts by madmen led by a fool.

I've witnessed your version of freedom, too,
Where people are silenced and music is banned;
Where women can't feel the sun on their faces
And all must bow down to your tyrannical hand.

You accuse the west of engaging in a holy war
Then kill babies while screaming, “Allah is good!”
And decapitating any non-Muslim you capture
While hiding your cowardly face under a hood.

Do you think you have the corner on outrage?
Do you know why I'm really writing this poem?
It's for the people in the airplanes and towers,
And the children who just wanted to go home.

There are some who will call me intolerant
Or say that I’m thinking in simplistic terms
Well, I say when you want to grow a garden,
You've got to kill all of the slugs and worms.

Like most Americans, I can be very sympathetic.
I would have taken your side if you were right.
But terrorism immediately overrides other evils.
You've left us no choice but to stand and fight.

Someday in a brighter future, I'll visit your country
And with true Muslims, sit down and break bread,
When the land is free and the people are happy
Because all of you miserable bastards are dead.

So have a good time for your days are numbered.
And remember, it was you who declared zero hour.
You've been begging for war. Well, now you’ve got it.
I hope you enjoy this lesson in the use of true power.



Author notes

I don't like terrorists very much. lol Please don't start an argument with me about Bush and America being worst terrorists than the Islamo-fascists because you won't be pleased with the results. I've been down that road many times before. You won't tell me anything I haven't heard.

And In case anyone wonders why I support the war on terror, consider this article describing just one of the over 5000 Islamic terror attacks since 9/11, this time against Christian children innocently walking to school.

THREE SCHOOLGIRLS BEHEADED IN INDONESIA

(They must be so proud, eh? See www.MichaelSavage.com for more information. In our liberal media, this is the only site willing to publish the photographs. God forbid we should see the true face of our enemy. Warning: Not for the squeamish. And don't watch the videos if you just had lunch. In fact, don't watch them at all if you can't take graphic images. The sights will never leave your mind.)

Associated Press
October 29, 2005

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Unidentified assailants attacked a group of schoolgirls on Saturday in Indonesia's tense province of Central Sulawesi, beheading three and seriously wounding a fourth, police said.

The students from a private Christian high school were ambushed while walking through a cocoa plantation in Poso Kota subdistrict on their way to class, police Maj. Riky Naldo said. The rural area is close to the provincial capital of Poso, about 1,000 miles northeast of the Indonesian capital Jakarta.

He said the heads of the three dead girls were found several miles from their bodies.

Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation. But Central Sulawesi has a roughly equal number of Muslims and Christians. The province on Sulawesi island was the scene of a bloody sectarian war in 2001-2002 that killed around 1,000 people from both communities.

At the time, beheadings, burnings and other atrocities were common.

A government-mediated truce ended the conflict in early 2002 but since then, there have been a series of bomb attacks and assassinations targeting Christians. A market attack in the predominantly Christian town of Poso killed 22 people in May.


*************************************************************

"FIVE QUESTIONS NON-MUSLIMS WOULD LIKE ANSWERED"
By Dennis Prager

(Dennis Prager's nationally syndicated radio show is heard daily in Los Angeles on KRLA-AM (870). He may be contacted through his website: www.dennisprager.com)

"The rioting in France by primarily Muslim youths and the hotel bombings in Jordan are the latest events to prompt sincere questions that law-abiding Muslims need to answer for Islam's sake, as well as for the sake of worried non-Muslims.

Here are five of them:

(1) Why are you so quiet?

Since the first Israelis were targeted for death by Muslim terrorists blowing themselves up in the name of your religion and Palestinian nationalism, I have been praying to see Muslim demonstrations against these atrocities. Last week's protests in Jordan against the bombings, while welcome, were a rarity. What I have seen more often is mainstream Muslim spokesmen implicitly defending this terror on the grounds that Israel occupies Palestinian lands. We see torture and murder in the name of Allah, but we see no anti-torture and anti-murder demonstrations in the name of Allah.

There are a billion Muslims in the world. How is it possible that essentially none have demonstrated against evils perpetrated by Muslims in the name of Islam? This is true even of the millions of Muslims living in free Western societies. What are non-Muslims of goodwill supposed to conclude? When the Israeli government did not stop a Lebanese massacre of Palestinians in the Sabra and Chatilla refugee camps in Lebanon in 1982, great crowds of Israeli Jews gathered to protest their country's moral failing. Why has there been no comparable public demonstration by Palestinians or other Muslims to morally condemn Palestinian or other Muslim-committed terror?

(2) Why are none of the Palestinian terrorists Christian?

If Israeli occupation is the reason for Muslim terror in Israel, why do no Christian Palestinians engage in terror? They are just as nationalistic and just as occupied as Muslim Palestinians.

(3) Why is only one of the 47 Muslim-majority countries a free country?

According to Freedom House, a Washington-based group that promotes democracy, of the world's 47 Muslim countries, only Mali is free. Sixty percent are not free, and 38 are partly free. Muslim-majority states account for a majority of the world's "not free" states. And of the 10 "worst of the worst," seven are Islamic states. Why is this?

(4) Why are so many atrocities committed and threatened by Muslims in the name of Islam?

Young girls in Indonesia were recently beheaded by Muslim murderers. Last year, Muslims — in the name of Islam — murdered hundreds of schoolchildren in Russia. While reciting Muslim prayers, Islamic terrorists take foreigners working to make Iraq free and slaughter them. Muslim daughters are murdered by their own families in the thousands in "honor killings." And the Muslim government in Iran has publicly called for the extermination of Israel.

(5) Why do countries governed by religious Muslims persecute other religions?

No church or synagogue is allowed in Saudi Arabia. The Taliban destroyed some of the greatest sculptures of the ancient world because they were Buddhist. Sudan's Islamic regime has murdered great numbers of Christians.
Instead of confronting these problems, too many of you deny them. Muslims call my radio show to tell me that even speaking of Muslim or Islamic terrorists is wrong. After all, they argue, Timothy McVeigh is never labeled a "Christian terrorist." As if McVeigh committed his terror as a churchgoing Christian and in the name of Christ, and as if there were Christian-based terror groups around the world.

As a member of the media for nearly 25 years, I have a long record of reaching out to Muslims. Muslim leaders have invited me to speak at major mosques. In addition, I have studied Arabic and Islam, have visited most Arab and many other Muslim countries and conducted interfaith dialogues with Muslims in the United Arab Emirates as well as in the U.S. Politically, I have supported creation of a Palestinian state and supported (mistakenly, I now believe) the Oslo accords.

Hundreds of millions of non-Muslims want honest answers to these questions, even if the only answer you offer is, "Yes, we have real problems in Islam." Such an acknowledgment is infinitely better — for you and for the world — than dismissing us as anti-Muslim.

We await your response."

*************************************************************

Headline, 6/27/05 -

"Experts Say US Complacent on Nuclear Terror Threat "
By David Morgan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Four years after the Sept. 11 attacks, the Bush administration and the U.S. Congress are showing signs of complacency about the threat of a terrorist nuclear attack that could cripple a major city and shatter the economy, nuclear security experts said on Monday.
At a public forum sponsored by the former Sept. 11 commission, the experts said the government must do more to secure bomb-making materials worldwide, prevent proliferation, and promote international cooperation on security.

"We said on the 9/11 commission that there needed to be maximum effort and a sense of urgency. The sense of urgency is more a mood of complacency today," said former commissioner Timothy Roemer, a former Democratic congressman from Indiana.

"Rather than a brisk pace of activity, we are more seeing a business-as-usual approach," he said.

Panel members including former Sen. Sam Nunn, a Democrat who once chaired the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, worried about the pace of efforts to secure nuclear stockpiles that are often poorly guarded in 40 countries, including former Soviet states.

"From my perspective, the terrorists are racing and we are somewhere between a walk and a crawl," said Nunn, who now leads a nonproliferation group called the Nuclear Threat Initiative.

He called on President Bush and Russian President
Vladimir Putin to accelerate U.S.-assisted nuclear security efforts in Russia and to overcome bureaucratic entanglements that have retarded progress in the effort.

Security has been upgraded for only about 26 percent of an estimated 600 tons (tonnes) of weapons-useable nuclear material in Russia that exists outside nuclear weapons.

'DISASTER' WARNING

CIA Director Porter Goss told the Senate in February that enough nuclear material to build a weapon is missing from Russian storage sites.

"Unless we greatly elevate our effort and the speed of our response, we could face disaster," Nunn added.

Monday's forum was sponsored by the 9/11 Public Discussion Project, a nonprofit group founded by the bipartisan commission that investigated the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on Washington and New York.

Many of the commission's recommendations for reforming U.S. intelligence have been embraced by the Bush administration or were formulated into law last year by Congress.

Former commissioners are holding a series of forums this summer to look at how the administration and Congress have implemented those recommendations. They intend to issue a "report card" around the anniversary of the attacks.

Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network and allied militant groups hope to buy or steal nuclear material for a weapon that could be used in an attack that would dwarf Sept. 11, intelligence officials have said.

"A terrorist nuclear attack on one of our cities could kill hundreds of thousands of people. It could shatter our economy, erode our civil liberties, give blackmail power to the terrorist group that carried out the attack," Nunn said.

Former Energy Department official Leonard Spector said the United States was likely to see an attack with a so-called dirty bomb that could spew radioactive material across an entire city neighborhood.

The nuclear security experts criticized the Bush administration for moving slowly to establish a new intelligence center on weapons proliferation. They said Congress has also withheld funds to secure highly enriched uranium, which can be used to build nuclear weapons.*


Written January 23rd, 2005

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1 - 78 of 78

  • k i t t i e
    June 10
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    I has to stop half way through. I COMPLETELY dissagree with this. Have you ever thought that Amereica is killing innocent people too? How can you think that killing is OK? A lot of those people that America is killing didn't do anything to us. Terrorists attack us. And what's our response? TO GO OVER AND KILL EVERYONE WE SEE! That is just wrong.


    • Kitty Lover,

      I answered your comment and assumed you were an adult but saw that you're only 12 years old when I went to your author page, so I apologize for the some of the words in my first response. I'm going to have to start looking at author pages BEFORE answering from now on. lol

      It's too bad you stopped halfway through and especially that you didn't read the articles under the poem. Let me tell you the differences between what terrorists do and what America is doing, since whoever you're listening to apparently hasn't.

      We're not "killing everyone we see", though we could have. With all of our military power, which include nuclear weapons, America could have really become the "bully" that the liberal, blame America crowd says it is and completely destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan and everyone in them without losing one American life. Instead, our soldiers are searching sniper-filled alleys and villages, knocking on doors to extricate the terrorists from the woman and children they hide among and behind. That's why we've lost over 4000 soldiers in this war.

      Another difference is the civilian deaths (which are inevitable in every war) that America causes are an accident that we mourn. Civilian deaths that the terrorists cause are not accidents. They are intentional. And they celebrate them. These are their own people, mind you.

      There are evil men in this world who want you and your family to die. They don't care how understanding or sweet or compassionate you are. Go spend some time at www.thereligionofpeace.com (with your parents' permission), and think some more about your position that killing terrorists is wrong. If we do nothing, it will just make it easier for them to kill us all, like they did on 9/11.

      Question for you -
      If you knew a terrorist was going to blow up a busload of children and you had a chance to kill him beforehand and didn't, would that be a moral act on your part, or an immoral act? If you didn't kill him, you would be partially responsible for the death of dozens of children. What would you do?

      I know it feels good to say "war is bad" under any circumstances, but it's unrealistic. There is immoral/evil killing (what the terrorists do) and moral/good killing (what we do when we kill terrorists). There are bad men in this world who must be stopped by good men and women. "Evil flourishes when good people do nothing."

      It takes courage in America these days to say "that is wrong" without reservation because the media and our universities are run by liberals who think truth, beauty and justice are all relative, not absolute. They will always call a terrorist a "militant" because to them, evil is a relative term. It is not to me. The disloyalty of the media to America and the troops has extended this war by denigrating America in the eyes of the world and disheartening our troops on the ground.

      Your response is welcome.

      Mark
  • i agree 100% with u you poem should and will open a lot of peoples eye

    • Mark Rickerby gold member
      January 7
      Edit | Reply
      Thanks very much. I was accused of intolerance by a Muslim member of AP, which always happens when this poem sees the light of day. I never understand it. Though I have a lot of doubts about all religions, I live by Christian principles for the most part, and if certain Christians were blowing up everything in sight, beheading people, etc., while chanting Jesus' name, I would want them wiped off the earth, too.

      Victor Frankl said, "There are two races - the decent and the indecent." Some Muslims have a persecution complex, particularly due to the aftermath of 9/11, and that creates a victim mentality in them which allows them to rationalize just about anything, like criminals do when they crying about how their fathers were bad to them and their moms were junkies or whatever, so they had no choice but to become gangsters yadda yadda yadda. Same stupidity, different group. They never seem to realize that the very existence of one person from similar circumstances who manages to remain highly moral, proud and strong in spite of it, makes all their excuses the worst kind of BS.

      Like everyone, since 9/11, I've had to do a lot of thinking about the terrorist mentality, and I think there are a lot of reasons people become terrorists. Like the I.R.A. in Northern Ireland during the troubles there, most of them would have been nothing without their "freedom fighter" identities. Before they joined the "resistance", they were just nobodies. Losers in every sense of the word. Afterward, they had a romantic image/identity all of a sudden, one they were not willing to give up, which is one reason the Irish troubles, and problems around the world, usually last longer than they should. The psychopaths who enjoy inflicting violence on people don't want to go back to being nobody again.

      A lot of other terrorists are probably just sick a-holes trying to justify their own sadistic tendencies. Either way, once they kill people innocently going about their daily lives, they don't deserve any sympathy or understanding or even to be listened to. Indiscriminate violence such as occurred on 9/11 warrants total extermination, and the sun seems to shine a little brighter with every dead terrorist, Muslim or Irish or whatever, no matter what their excuses were. They either work within the rules of conduct agreed upon by civilized nations or those nations have no choice but to do the repugnant work of ridding the world of them, as surgeons remove a cancer for the survival of the body.

      Sorry about the rant but this subject really gets my blood boiling, considering all our lives are being threatened by people we don't want to know and shouldn't have to know.

      Thanks again,

      Mark

  • LadyLeviathan
    September 12, 2007

    Edit | Reply
    honesty about your opinions towards something is freedom of speech. and your opinion is greatly penned here in this piece. you had so much to say. it was long but kept me interesting the whole way. great job!

  • Immortal Obscurity silver member
    September 10, 2007

    Edit | Reply
    I'll be honest here... Even though I really don't like George Bush, I still enjoyed your piece. It was written in a very diplomatic way. You did it tastefully, without making a mockery of any religions, nor did you point the finger at all of Islam. I know several Muslims, and even they are in shock at some of the atrocities being committed in the name of religion. I also liked the way you backed up your opinions and showcased your experiences in the authors' notes. Very well-researched and thought-out. All the best to you.

    L.

  • Talking Toni gold member
    September 9, 2007

    Edit | Reply

    Very Good!!!!

    Loved the rhyme scheme and content as well. You really sock it to the terrorists in this piece. Quite an undertaking too...impressive and I agree with all stanzas a great partriot you are!!! Thanks fro your entry and the best of luck to you!!!~~Toni~~

  • lips of an angel
    June 12, 2006
    Edit | Reply

    DISAGREE

    i thought this was very straight about getting your point across but yet i still disagree. i understand that you agree with the war but i don't.innocent people are dieing everyday and if you're not careful, the next dead body could be yours (not threatening you in any way). i'm not suire if you're an american soldier but if you are then you obviously know why you're out on the field risking your life to save the lives of many others. but still i ask, are you not a christian? have you not read the Bible? Jesus says to turn the other cheek. i understand that most of those american men and women out there our fighting to protect their friends and family but without thinking, they're killing someone else's mother or father, brother or sister, daughter and son. HAve we no mercy? can we not see that we're going by the Muslim law, EYE FOR AN EYE. by americans fighting, we are telling them their laws are right and ours are wrong.but then you ask, "who are you to judge me and my opinions?" ANSWER: i am a person who cares how many others america is hurting, a person who has a big enough heart to love not just americans but everyone wether or not they love me back. i do hope you see where i'm coming from.you do not have to ever agree with me for this is simply my opinion.as long as you accept my opinion and take it into thought.

    lips of an angel

    • Mark Rickerby gold member
      April 24, 2007
      Edit | Reply
      lipsofanangel,

      I was just checking out some old responses and came across the one above from you. Has your opinion changed at all now that there have been over 8000 more terrorist attacks since 9/11?

      By the way, the vast majority of Iraqi civilian casualties have been a result of car bombs and attacks by Muslim insurgents, not U.S. soldiers.

      Re. your comment, "i am a person who cares how many others america is hurting, a person who has a big enough heart to love not just americans but everyone wether or not they love me back."

      1. Most of the "hurting" is being done by Muslims fanatics. Spend a little time at www.thereligionofpeace.com to see what I mean.

      2. I have a "big enough heart" and care about more than just Americans, too, believe it or not. Muslim terrorists are not just killing Americans. They're killing anyone who doesn't believe as they do all over the world. To ignore it is not godly or virtuous or "big hearted".

      3. I wonder how much you would love them if someone in your family was kidnapped and beheaded. It's easy to love from afar when it's not personal but that philosophy crumbles when the person's own family is victimized. I remember a phone call to a talk radio station once. The host of the show believed in the death penalty. A lady called in and said, "I used to be against the death penalty and couldn't understand how you could support it, but a few months ago, my daughter was raped and killed. Now I understand what you were trying to say. I won't feel at peace until I know that her killer is dead. My daughter is dead forever. He should be, too."

      The host said he was sorry to hear about her daughter, of course, but then asked her why she did not support the death penalty before when it was only OTHER people's daughters who were being raped and killed. Why does it have to become personal before we care about others and want the world to be rid of violent people? And how do we get rid of them except by force? They don't just go away. If we learned anything from 9/11 when the Muslim terrorists declared war on us, it was that.

      Your thoughts are welcome.

      Mark

  • Mark Rickerby gold member
    February 3, 2006
    Edit | Reply
    Thanks, Chelsea. No, I don't think I saw Flight 93. I'll look out for it. Thanks.

    Mark

  • February Moon gold member
    February 3, 2006
    Edit | Reply
    I love this. I agree with what you are saying. Did you watch the movie Flight 93? Because if you haven't and you do your opinion on this will become stronger. I am glad that so many people have been writing about September 11th 2001 and how we need to stop these people. Good write.

    Chelsea

  • MelficeRoesorVelve
    February 3, 2006
    Edit | Reply
    It is certainly interesting to hear your views and opinions Mark, and I thank you for sharing them with me. I feel that listening to an opinion radicaaly different from your own, betters you as a person, and helps you understand humanity. Once again, thanks for a great read, and for replying, I will certianly look out for your work in the future. I myself have written war poetry, and I would like to share it with you. Titled "Crucial." If you are interested, I would like to hear your opinions on my poetry.

    Thanks again Mark,

    Melfice

  • Mark Rickerby gold member
    February 2, 2006
    Edit | Reply
    MelficeRoesorVelve,

    First of all, thank you for your final remarks. It's refreshing to meet someone who disagrees with me and yet manages to remain respectful. That kind of maturity seems to be endangered on this site and in society in general these days.

    I'll do my best to address your comments.

    To be honest Mr. RIckerby, I found this poem to be hypocritical, narrow minded, and full of hatred.

    Regarding the "full of hatred" part, you're right. I am. I take it personally when someone or some group murders three thousand of my relatives. Guilty as charged.

    Re. hypocritical and narrow-minded, those charges are purely emotional on your part and based on your own opinion, so I can't refute them.

    You are fueling the hatred and violence that you supposedly despise so much. In saying "We’ll hunt you all down wherever you go.", you drop yourself to their level.

    When the liberating forces took out the Nazi's, they weren't dropping themselves to their level. There is moral violence and immoral violence. Terrorism is immoral violence. Preventing terrorists from killing more innocent people, stopping entrenched oppression and persecution, and punishing tyrants is moral violence.

    I agree, fanatical Muslims will not get anywhere with Terror attacks, and I agree, that we should stand up, and stand strong.

    Me, too.

    But in your poem, you liken yourself, and the cause to Gandhi, and Jesus and King, people who changed the world through pacifism, yet you have the nerve to include a line like:

    "And the last sight you’ll ever see in this world
    Will be a U.S. soldier kicking you in the face."

    That line offends me personally and politically, and I believe that people such as the pacifists and freedom fighters you mentioned would turn in their graves at the thought of using violence to oppose terrorism.


    I'm not likening myself to those people. I'm clearly not a Pacifist. In fact, I believe there are two kinds of Pacifism -

    1. To lay down on the ground and let your enemy kick you until he gets tired and (hopefully, but not likely) thinks, "Gee, I'm a real bad guy for kicking this person who isn't resisting. I'm going to reexamine everything I believe and turn over a new leaf. Or:

    2. Make yourself so strong that nobody will dare attack you.

    I prefer #2.

    I must admit, however, that this stanza is probably the most unclear one in the poem, and others have called me on it before. To advocate wiping terrorists off the face of the earth, and then name a bunch of famous Pacifists (except for Malcolm X for most of his life), does seem contradictory. My intention was not to claim that I am advocating their approach, but to draw a distinction between the terrorists and people who use diplomatic means to create change.

    Again, I wasn't likening myself to them at all. I'm not a Pacifist. No way. But I will never strike the first blow, either. The second definitely. But not the first. I will also advocate crushing any group anywhere in the world that is oppressing innocent people. When I was 18 or so, I heard the old line, "Evil flourishes when good men do nothing", and it stuck. I think it's the moral responsibility of all good people to take out tyrants and evil groups like Al-Quaeda wherever they exist, and whether or not they're threatening us personally.

    Everything you stand for: Democracy, Freedom of Speech, Equality, "The American Way" is undermined by your raw hatred and thougts of violence towards people.

    Toward terrorists, not "people". By slaughtering innocent civilians, they lost their rights, including the right to be understood by civilized people. They are a cancer and they must be cut out.

    I would also like to point out, that the lines:

    "Someday in the future, I'll visit your country
    And with true Muslims, sit down and break bread,
    When the land is free and the people are happy
    Because all of you miserable bastards are dead."

    Suggest to me that you believe every Muslim is likely to take arms and attack the west if their leaders say so. Further to this, I would like to point out that a higher percentage of Christians persecuted the Black people, Muslims, Sikhs and the Jewish for many years, before a much smaller percentage of extremist Islamic fanatics attacked the west.


    Absolute nonsense. Throughout history and to this day, 46 of the 47 Muslim majority countries are cultures of death living under extreme oppression and tyranny. Muslims have been their own worst enemy for centuries, and now they're the west's worst enemy, too. I guess it was just a matter of time before their Dark Ages style of thinking found its way to us.

    Another point I would like to deliver, is the targets, extremist Islamists go for. America interferes with Islamic countries, enforcing their western beliefs and ideas on a country that does not neccesarily want one.

    A "country" that doesn't want one? Like most these days, you seem to have been poisoned by our liberal news media, which gleefully reports every mistake the American military makes, and willfully suppresses our victories. But I remember the millions of Iraqi people risking their lives to vote for the first time in 30 years (a real vote, not one fixed by Hussein, who usually won a miraculous 100% of the votes somehow). I remember the tearful eyes of an Iraqi man, the purple ink from the polls still wet on his fingers, who said, "God created America to bring freedom to people like me." I have corresponded with soldiers who told me that Iraqi people come to them every day and spontaneously hug and thank them for what they're trying to do. So you're barking up the wrong tree if you're trying to convince me that we're forcing Democracy down anyone's throat. Everyone desires freedom. Those who want to prevent it are the ones who are benefiting personally from tyranny, such as the insurgents and the oppressive groups and/or regimes they represent.

    Consequently, the Islamic extremists responded in the only way they have power. Muslims cannot affect U.S. politics.

    Blacks in America had no power, yet the Civil Rights Movement was a success. There is always a way to create change without violence, especially now that there are cameras everywhere. The expansion of journalism and news coverage was one of the main reasons Gandhi's hunger strikes and marches were so effective. The same was true of Dr. King. A peaceful exchange of ideas, "speaking truth to power", etc., can change things. The problem is terrorists don't have the patience for that. They're too full of hatred. And I'm personally not interested in trying to reason with a fanatic who just beheaded a Christian schoolgirl. He should be crushed like the worthless cockroach that he is. You better believe I'm intolerant. If you're not intolerant toward people who murder children, there's something seriously wrong with your heart.

    Terrorists use violence because they're hateful fanatics who enjoy blowing shit up. In fact, there is an age-old problem with violence in the Middle East in general. What has the Middle East contributed to the modern world except terrorism? They can't even pump their own oil. They need us to do it for them. The problem is fanatical Muslims who want to force everyone to live in a way that just isn't conducive to the modern world, and who will kill anyone who doesn't. They're basically romantics with a vision of a Utopian world that will never be. A civil war has been brewing in the Middle East between progressive people who want to step into the modern world and conservative fanatics who want to stay in the Dark Ages. We are helping the progressive side. If the fanatics win, we're all in trouble. I just hope it doesn't take a nuclear bomb to convince people like yourself that they need to be stopped.

    Personally, I feel you are expressing your hatred of terrorism in completely the wrong way, and your anger towards the Islamic extremsists, if not the entire people, is unfounded, considering the barabarities the west are capable of.

    The difference is our civilian casualties are accidents, which we mourn. The terrorists civilian casualties are intentional, which they celebrate. Big difference.

    I'm not angry with the "entire people". I'm angry with Islamic extremists, but I'm only very frustrated with ordinary American Muslims, or Muslims in parts of the world where they aren't afraid to fart in case they're shot without a trial, who are not doing nearly enough to demonstrate their disgust with the actions of the terrorists/insurgents. When was the last time you saw American Muslims marching en-masse to protest the actions of the fanatics who are distorting their "religion of peace"?

    Do you rail against world debt? Are you in the fight against poverty? Do you send food packages to starving children in third world countries?

    Yes to all of the above. I sponsor a child through the Christian Children's Fund, and if you read more of my work, you'll see I "rail against" all kinds of things, including weapons proliferation, racism, corporate greed, etc., etc. Please do your research before trying to insinuate that I'm less compassionate than you.

    That brings me to a subject that has been perplexing me quite a bit since all this started. The liberals have always painted themselves as the more compassionate side, yet in their condemnation of this war effort, their true lack of compassion for the tens of thousands of people who were dying at the hands of the Taliban and Hussein is revealed. Over 25,000 children were dying every year because Hussein diverted funds meant for food so that he could build nine (9) opulent palaces for himself. Would you prefer that the children continued to die in those numbers? Would you prefer that millions of people throughout the Middle East continue to live in fear of small groups of oppressive maniacs? For centuries, political and religious leaders in the Middle East have been conspiring - and now using the media (Al-Jazeera is the only source of "news" that most people in the M.E. have) to pollute the minds of the people and keep them sick and suspicious with outright lies like "The Jews put the blood of Palestinian children in their pastries." That was an actual news report on Al-Jazeera. Why? For the same reason the political and religious leaders of ancient Rome conspired to inflame the anger and hatred of the Roman people - because angry, fearful, ignorant people are easier to control.

    Or do you just respond to an attack on your country with rage and hatred towards a people, of whom the vast majority are peaceful, and want nothing more than to live their lives away from war.

    Again, my hatred isn't toward "a people". It's toward terrorists. You're really starting to detract from your argument now by bending my words and trying to paint me as a racist.

    Nobody likes war. Nobody wants to see their young people die, and every soldier would rather be home lying in the grass with their girlfriend or boyfriend. But sometimes war is necessary. It seems to me liberals are more interested in feeling good about themselves by ignoring evil than by getting their hands bloody in the fight against it. As history has proven over and over, sometimes war is necessary to prevent evil bastards from overrunning the planet and raping your children. And believe me, the current enemy would do that with great glee. Pacifism only makes it easier for them. Say what you want about President Bush, but I don't think the terrorists take him lightly or think he's soft on terrorism. The seeds of 911 were planted when Congress laughed at Ollie North for suggesting we should take out Osama Bin Laden. The seeds were planted when Clinton ran the White House and didn't do enough to fight them. Bush just got hit with the bullet that narrowly missed Clinton. Clinton did do his own share of bombing in the Middle East, but I don't recall the liberals making such a big deal out of it. Seems to me most of them hate Republicans more than terrorists.

    Finally, I would like to congratulate you on writing such a strong opinionated piece of poetry, as some people are bound to disagree with your views, and whilst I am one of those people, I am not open minded enough to respect your beliefs, even if they differ from my own. I respect your ability to speak out on your ideas, and thank you for a thought provoking read.

    Thank you.

    God bless you

    God bless you, too.

    Mark
    Edited on Feb 03, 5:37 p.m. because ''.
  • InBetweenThoughts gold member
    February 1, 2006
    Edit | Reply
    Congratulations Mark on a trophy well deserved as you surely have the best write here. Glad to see you were awarded with the gold! Awesome write, have a great day, Ken IBT

  • Mark Rickerby gold member
    February 1, 2006
    Edit | Reply
    Hey Chris,

    I speak a little Spanish but not enough to thoroughly understand that video. I think the gist of it is that the Pentagon attack was actually a bomb set by shadow figures within the U.S. government. I can't buy that. We saw planes crash into the towers and the wreckage of another was found in Pennsylvania. To claim the one that hit the Pentagon didn't exist is too far out even for me, and I believe in UFO's, Bigfoot, and ghosts, so that's saying something. lol

    I've sent the video to some of my Spanish-speaking friends for their opinion. What do you think? I'd like to hear your thoughts. My mind is never closed. Obstinate maybe, but not closed. lol

    Thanks,

    Mark

  • Mark Rickerby gold member
    February 1, 2006
    Edit | Reply
    DarkerKnight,

    Thanks. I had liberal tendencies long ago too, before I realized that there really is true, horrific evil in the world that someone needs to fight. Nobody likes war or killing, but unfortunately, since the beginning of time, good people have had to defend themselves against bad ones. The alternative is to do nothing and let them overrun the earth, killing anyone and everyone they disapprove of. For instance, a few months ago, Muslim fanatics decapitated four Christian girls walking to school. What are we supposed to do with people who can do such things? America's hands aren't squeaky clean, but we sure as hell don't condone maniacs in our midst who cut the heads off children, as most Middle Eastern countries do. All but one of the 49 Muslim countries in the world are oppressive and brutal tyrannies. Coincidence?

    Anyway, I know I'm preaching to the choir. It's nice to meet a fellow reformed liberal. I'm just glad the haze lifted and learned how to determine right from wrong.

    Thanks a lot for your thoughts on this. I appreciate it.

    Mark

  • Mark Rickerby gold member
    February 1, 2006
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    supergirl45817,

    Mean? To whom? Terrorists? How would you suggest we deal with them? No disrespect intended. Just curious.

  • KnightRhymer
    February 1, 2006
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    Magnificant

    Not too long ago, I used to be a nasty lib. Now I have seen more and have reasearched more and have heard about all the b.s. that people who call themselves American have had to say. I can honestly say that while I do not agree with everything Pres. Bush has done fighting this war, I can say that I support him 100% and wish him peace and resolve to fnish until the job is done. I watched the towers fall live on t.v. that morning. The images of people jumping out to their deaths to keep from being burned to death has been branded into my mind forever. Never will I wish that to happen to anyone, but the Muslim fantics have made that choice for us. Many innocents may die, but what about the ones in the planes, towers and the Pentagon? Were they not innocents as well? I do not call these fanatics as freedom fighters or any other word the media uses. I call them for what they are. Terrorists. Any one else who says different needs to wake up and stop living in LA LA Land. Well done, Mark. I am glad you have written this. ]>-} Darker

  • Sharon Corr gold member
    January 31, 2006
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    Brilliance

    Ditto ‘Haikumonk Utter brilliance Mark. The terror of flight 93, the courage and valour by the few who care as you. A stern warning for the attack on 9/11 that must be heard. Namaste Blessed Be, keep on informing us..A stern warning to all terrorists, we will not bend to their violence!


    Edited on Jan 31, 11:08 p.m. because ''.

  • Cristos
    January 31, 2006
    Edit | Reply
    I found the link I wanted to show you, but I had forgotten it was in spanish. I still hope you can appreciate it.

    www.pentagonstrike.co.uk/pentagon_sp.htm#Main

    peace
    Chris

  • Cristos
    January 31, 2006
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    Freedom is crying

    Someone wise once said, "when you fight fire with fire, all that's left are ashes"

    I witnessed this piece evolve as support the freedom of those that support you and supress the freedom of those that don't. It was truly heart wrenching to see this continue. Insults being thrown and I thought to look on the other side for a second...and this piece could very well have been written by a "terrorist" (yes, in quotations...this term is too amply abused) by just replacing the terms that represent the US and using words that represent an islamic "freedom fighter" (in quotes too...very widely abused as well).

    It is my hope that we can be a world of tolerance...I have been bullied numerous times in my life and I do not recall an instance of fighting back that brought me any peace, either physically or mentally...The biggest gun you can possibly shoot is to keep living your way of life regardless of what others say, or care to say about it...even if it kills you.

    To die living what you believe is not the same as to die believing what you live.

    I truly hope this comment does not bring forth any insults as I have not cast any stones and to be stoned by another "freedom fighter" would only degrade the cause they are serving.

    As nations, set so far apart from each other, there is still no mentality on either end of live and let live. This is my commentary on this piece...I will try to finish reading it...but I really don't think much different was said in the last 8 stanzas that wasn't already said in the first 8.
    peace always.
    Chris
  • supergirl45817
    January 31, 2006
    Edit | Reply
    Well, I don't exactly like it. It was mean and I don't agree with it.
    Edited on Jan 31, 6:08 p.m. because ''.
  • Linda Sue silver member
    January 31, 2006
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    Congratulations on winning the gold. Very well-deserved. The most encouraging thing about this contest is that it was given by a teenager. So many of our young people today have no respect for their country or our President. I was reminded of that fact by some of the more negative comments on the contest and my poem. I enjoyed your poem very much...I agrree on all points. You had some great replies to comments as well i.e. Mr. Edna...a great representative of the ultra liberal view. Take care, ~ Sue

  • Mark Rickerby gold member
    January 31, 2006
    Edit | Reply
    Hey Shaker,

    I think I misinterpreted your last comment a little. When you said "second in command", I thought you were talking about our side, then I realized you were referring to Osama's right hand bozo. Sorry about that. It sure is the pot calling the kettle black, isn't it? Amazing hypocrisy. Then again, they never miss a chance to smear the U.S. and imply that we intentionally kill civilians, as they do. Thanks for your comments on this.

    Take care,

    Mark

  • Shakes-spear
    January 31, 2006
    Edit | Reply
    I see that this has raised the hair on a few peoples backs, but I think about the latest tape from the second in command that talked about the innocent people we killed when we bombed what we thought was him and thought ..Is this the pot calling the kettle black? I agree with a lot of what you have said, but more in the freedom which allows you to say what you feel. Hold true to you my friend and they can hold on to what they want too! The Shaker

  • Ashleigh London
    January 30, 2006
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    Right on, sweetheart. You know what's amazing to me? How a little bit of American Pride sets the liberals off. It's great! lol. Gives me a laugh and I begin to chuckle as they continue, because the thing about liberals is, it's like they are clones all programmed to say the same thing. I swear every argument I've ever had with one starts and ends with the same exact points and statments... it's like... :Wow, dejavu!" Great poem. I loved it. I hate that picture ... because, well you know, but it does add strength and power to this! Keep it up!
    Amanda

  • Mark Rickerby gold member
    October 26, 2005
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    My feelings about how this war has been handled have fluctuated a lot, but my feelings about how to deal with terrorists haven't. The best way to handle a bully is to kick his ass so badly that he'll never dream of bullying you again. That's the only thing that works with someone on that level. I agree that indiscriminate attacks would only inflame the will of the terrorists - that probably wouldn't work - but inactivity would seal our fate even faster. They want us dead either way. Might as well kill as many of the enemy as possible before the inevitable happens.

    I am glad to see that someone else recognizes Al-Jazeera for what it is - a terrorist mouthpiece and a tool religious and political leaders in the Middle East have been using for years to manipulate the masses, and the poor suckers don't have a clue.

    Thanks for your opinion on this, and the "kudos". After being raked over the coals by a few people here, it's nice to meet a fellow sane person. lol

    What do you think of Bush's plans to develop a tactical nuclear bunker buster that can kill a million people while trapping its own fallout? That's one of the things I'm conflicted about in all this. How can we discourage the development of nuclear weaponry around the world while we develop it ourselves? Or as Einstein put it, we can't simultaneously prevent and prepare for war. Scary times, my friend. I just wish we wouldn't have been dragged into the Middle Eastern maelstrom to begin with. They've been fighting for centuries and now we're getting dragged down with them.

    Thanks again,

    Mark
    Edited on Jan 30, 2:17 because ''.

  • EarthToJim
    October 25, 2005
    Edit | Reply
    Kind of an old poem now, but I loved every word. Yep, the libs really really don't get it. Of course, they could never recognize a razor sharp boundary between good and evil. To Libs, there is so much ambiguity in life as to blur all distinction between good and evil. The paper you and I look at is black on the left half and white on the right half. The Libs have a paper that is various shades of gray and there is no particular right way to hold it.

    "If it was up to me, I would declare war on Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt, and any other country that had anything to do with 9/11 and/or supports terrorism in any way. I would tell every Middle Eastern country that if a terrorist from their country attacks us, we will take out one of their major cities. That would light a fire under their ass..."

    No it wouldn't. Al Jazeera would simply open the propaganda valve full bore and cry for Jihad. Then they'd feel justified in their own retaliation against us. This is pretty much a no win situation. We have to keep trying to force them into the open by converting more and more people who will tip us off as to their whereabouts.

    I'm gettin tired, gotta go, but just wanted to give you major kudos for this piece.

  • Mark Rickerby gold member
    August 5, 2005
    Edit | Reply
    If you want me to consider your opinion, you should stop identifying yourself with Edna Sweetlove, a lowlife homo who hangs around parks at night blowing strangers in bushes. He's a perfect example of everything that's wrong with this country, and everything I was criticizing in your other favorite of mine - The America I Once Knew.

    But I must admit, you're right - I do agree that "something is wrong with this picture." This poem was strictly a rant against terrorists, regardless of where they're from. Regarding the war on terrorism, as far as I'm concerned, it's been a great success so far. We've taken out most of Al-Quaeda's leadership and thousands of AQ's fanatical members.

    If it was up to me, I would declare war on Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt, and any other country that had anything to do with 9/11 and/or supports terrorism in any way. I would tell every Middle Eastern country that if a terrorist from their country attacks us, we will take out one of their major cities. That would light a fire under their ass to stop aiding them and start pursuing the terrorists within their own borders. This is war. You don't fight a war halfway.

    I'd also become self-sufficient by developing alternate fuel sources and drilling Alaska until we are. We were self-sufficient in America until the last 30-40 years and we need to be again. Financial and material dependence only creates the wrong kind of loyalties and muddied thinking by our politicians. I hate the fact that Bush Sr. and Jr. have broken bread with members of the Bin Laden family, and the fact the Osama is still alive is my main doubt about Bush's character. After all, you don't kill people if you're friends with their family.

    I would also cut humanitarian and financial aid to every country that hasn't been supporting us in this war. That would go a long way toward paying for the war effort so far.


    Edited on Sep 08, 1:39 p.m. because ''.

  • AJ Morelli gold member
    August 5, 2005
    Edit | Reply

    Retarded

    Edna is right and there were no Afgans or Iraqis on those planes, none, zero, nada. We were attacked by 15 Saudi's, 2 from the UAE, 1 from Lebanon and 1 Egyptian. They were funded and supported by Pakistan and the Saudi's, yet we consider Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt our allies in the war on terror. Even a you would have to admit that something is wrong with this picture.

  • Mark Rickerby gold member
    June 3, 2005
    Edit | Reply
    Abraham Lincoln said the way to win a war is to kill the enemy, then kill some more, and some more, until there's nobody left to attack you. It amazes me that Americans haven't figured out exactly how fanatical, evil, and utterly without morals these terrorists are. Trying diplomacy would just make it easier for them to kill us all. They don't even mind killing their own people, fellow Muslims. There is no use talking to them in terms of right and wrong, because they don't think that way. They think in terms of Muslim or non-Muslim. They kill humanitarian workers who are there to help their people as quickly and happily as they kill our soldiers.

    As far as "allies", America is loved when it's beaten down and hated when it shows any strength or resolve. It has always been that way because the world resents our success and power. We're used to being alone. Nobody helped us during the Great Depression, or when the railroads went tits up, or during any of our other disasters, but the whole world looks to America when there are catastrophes in other countries. (The tsunami, for instance.)

    Personally, I could care less about who supports us and who doesn't, particularly unethical, cowardly countries like France, and I rejoice when I hear about these murdering pricks getting killed. They're terrorists who kill their own people. They deserve it.

  • George W Bush
    May 28, 2005
    Edit | Reply

    awrtaethathryjaetgy

    ok, I back after a good night's sleep. I just think that attacking anyone who opposes us is reckless, and we need to try diplomacy, because for one, less poeple would die, and secondly, we'd have more help from allies. I could go on and on, but I have a lot more entries to look at, so thanks for not being a dick in your comment, I get that a lot from people I argue with.

  • Mark Rickerby gold member
    May 27, 2005
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    We don't know who we're fighting because we're fighting an ideology. America hating terrorists are scattered all over the Middle East. Some are even here. It's too bad there's no country called Terroristania, but there isn't. I'd love to hear a suggestion about how we could do things differently. Thanks for the balanced response. Many can't seem to disagree without slipping back-handed insults into their comments.

    Thanks,

    Mark
  • George W Bush
    May 27, 2005
    Edit | Reply

    W34GAE4THRYJTYJ

    haha, maybe a little too patriotic for me, but everybody has their opinions. I'd just to say that I'm tired, and I don't really feel like starting any kind of arguement, but I just think that that "we'll hunt you out and never stop until you're all dead" attitude isn't helping anything. I agree with ecravin01, we need to know who exactly we're fighting, and why. yeah, I can't stay awake, I'll be back on tomorrow and finish that. but I would like the thank you for entering, and although I don't agree with you, I'll applaud this anyway.

  • Mark Rickerby gold member
    May 27, 2005
    Edit | Reply
    Well, here we go again.

    I know the terrorists who committed the atrocity of 9/11 weren't all Afghans or Iraqi's, but beginning our offensive against terrorism in general in Afghanistan and Iraq was and is effective because we created a flash point in Iraq that is still drawing in terrorists who want to destroy us like flies to poop. Since Islamic terrorists are spread throughout the Middle East and weeding them out would be impossible, we had to draw them to us. Every one we kill there is one less who will be planning another attack on America.

    These people don't care if you sympathize with them, or how progressive you are. They don't want to be understood by you. They want to kill you, your family, and all your friends. The current crop of Americans is painfully naive about the nature of evil. Even 9/11 wasn't enough to wake them up. They think they can solve everything through quiet diplomacy. They underestimate the fanatical mind.

    To address a few of your comments -

    "I did not much care for the poem, as it is too much of a rant, and too little of a poem."

    What makes you an authority on what is and isn't poetry? Taste for poetry is a completely individual thing. Because you don't like it doesn't mean it doesn't qualify as a "poem".

    "The big thing about your poem, however, is that you have never mentioned that the people you call terrorists are often religious fanatics."

    What? Wasn't the title "An Open Letter to ISLAMIC Terrorists" clear enough?

    "If you propose to go out and kill all religious fanatics who don't agree with you, your argument begins to fall apart."

    I don't want to kill all religious fanatics, just the ones who want all Americans to die. Again, they're not interested in sitting down and discussing anything with us, and neither am I with them. This is a war they chose to start, and a war we have to win, and are winning. You criticize what Bush/America is doing, but as usual with "left-wingers", you offer no alternatives to how we should deal with fanatics who are hellbent on getting nuclear weapons to wipe us all off the face of the earth. I know it's easy to criticize everything Bush does, but do you have any suggestions on better ways to deal with terrorists? I would really love to hear a few.

    "The most interesting thing about your "poem" is that you don't even allow for the possibility that anybody might have a religious view different from yours, and that, therefore, they are simply all evil people. I despise terrorists, but I am also smart enough to know that there are all kinds of terrorists, and that most of them are religion driven. Your Boykins and the monsters who bomb abortion clinics are terrorists too."

    I guess you missed the last line of the poem, or your hatred for Bush didn't allow you to acknowledge it, so here it is again.

    Someday in the future, I'll visit your country
    and with true Muslims, sit down and break bread,
    when the land is free and the people are happy
    because all of you miserable bastards are dead.


    Does that not indicate that I don't hate "anybody" with different religious beliefs from my own? Give me a little credit. This poem was directed toward ISLAMIC terrorists, because that's who attacked America on 9/11. But obviously, I am against all kinds of terrorism, including Christians who bomb abortion clinics, etc. They should be hunted down and killed, too. There is nothing in my poem that says I condone non-Islamic terrorism. That was another leap in your own fanatic desire to slam America and to win an argument at any cost.

    I didn't miss the subtle slam there, either - "I am also smart enough to know . . . " A typical, back-handed, liberal way of saying I'm not as "smart" as you. Why do liberals have to be so childish?

    Why can't liberals like you express yourselves without being insulting? It's very immature. The only thing I can imagine is it is the result of thinking with your emotions and not your brain. Acknowledging evil in the world and doing what is necessary to fight it conflicts with your desire to feel good and compassionate. On the other hand, the cold-hearted Conservatives know that the humanitarian thing to do is taking out evil in the world, like the Taliban and Hussein. If it was up to the compassionate liberals, they would still be raping and murdering children by the thousands. I would love to sit down and sing We Are The World with my enemies, if they had any interest whatsoever in doing the same. But they don't. They would cut my throat and yours and dance around our corpses. In fact, please visit this site and see some of the acts they are capable of, then get back to me on how else we should deal with them other than drawing them into an epicenter (Iraq) and killing them all. I dare you to watch the videos on this site. And I guarantee you will vomit or stop watching to prevent yourself from vomiting -

    www.michaelsavage.com

    Then again, I'm sure you won't. You don't want to know about evil. You don't want to see the enemy for who he is. That might force you to reassess your thinking. For most, liberal or conservative, fear of appearing wishy-washy and the desire to be consistent in the eyes of their friends outweighs an honest search for knowledge.

    "I would go so far as to say that anybody who tries to force their ideas on anyone else is essentially a terrorist."

    Well, that's just ridiculous. Exchanging ideas is terrorism? Well, then I guess you're a terrorist, too. You are forcing your ideas on me a little here. Maybe I should notify the FBI to put you on their watch list. lol

    "Arguing is fine, in its place, but when you presume that your ideas are right and theirs are wrong, you have stepped into a gray area where you can then begin to work up your arguments for violence."

    But it's okay that they think we are wrong? Even in the "Holy Koran", Christians and Jews are repeatedly referred to as pigs, dogs and apes. Many Muslims outside of the hornet's nest of the Middle East are very tolerant of other religions. In fact, much of the drama we're seeing in the Middle East right now is a result of their own civil war between the progressive Muslims who want to step into the modern world and end the oppression that has kept much of the M.E. locked in the Dark Ages, and the corrupt mullahs and politicians who have been benefiting from the oppression. It's a battle that has been brewing for decades, maybe even centuries, and it has finally come to a head. We are actually minor players in it. We got sucked into it on 9/11. And as usual, we have taken it upon ourselves as Americans to help free people. America is the greatest force for freedom in the world. Anybody who doesn't think so has their head way too far up their ass to hear the truth.

    "The people who committed 9/11 were evil people in my opinion too, but they were NOT Iraqis. Not one of them was an Iraqi. Most of them were citizens of Saudi Arabia, Bush's buddies in the Moslem world."

    The enemy is not a particular country, it is an ideology, a type of person. Islamic terrorists don't think in terms of nationality when it comes to Middle Eastern, Islamic countries. The maniacs who attacked us on 9/11 and the terrorists in Iraq or anywhere else in the M.E. are cut from the same cloth. They don't think in terms of right and wrong, or good and evil. They think in terms of muslim or non-muslim. Do you think a Saudi Arabian Al-Quaeda member would feel no affinity with an Iraqi Al-Quaeda member? Of course not. They would embrace each other as brothers, unified by their hatred of America. And if they weren't busy running to Iraq to fight us or hiding in a hole to save their worthless asses, they would be plotting attacks on us.

    Re. the "Bush's buddies in the Moslem world" line, that's just another example of how Bush can't win with liberals no matter what he does. He attacks the enemy and he's called a war mongerer. He tries diplomacy and he's accused of favoritism. He can't win. It's always easy to put a negative spin on things. Again, the average American today has no idea what evil is or how to fight it. General Patton would be disgusted. By the way, we have arrested and killed terrorists in Saudi Arabia, too. We haven't launched an all-out offensive against Saudi Arabia because they, as a country, haven't been tyrannizing their own people on the level that Hussein and the Taliban did, they didn't threaten to use WMD's against us, act like they had them, and use them against their neighbors. The terrorists happened to be from Saudi Arabia, but they were defined as Islamic terrorists, which is not limited to any particular Middle Eastern country.

    "I am sick to death of hearing people defend the invasion of Iraq because they say that Saddam was involved with 9/11. That is a vicious lie. Saddam was an evil ruler, of course, but he had nothing to do with 9/11."

    Nowhere in my POEM do I say that Hussein was involved with 9/11. That's another example of your desire to create conflict where none exists for an excuse to parrot another liberal, anti-Bush mantra. Most people now know that Hussein had nothing to do with 9/11, and anybody who has any humanitarian instincts at all doesn't care that he didn't. He killed hundreds of thousands of people and would have continued to do so if we hadn't stopped him. I don't care why good gets done, as long as it does. The only mistake America made was not blowing him and his evil sons off the face of the earth decades ago.

    By the way, both Kerry and Clinton wanted to invade Iraq, too. Clinton even proposed it to Congress. But Bush actually does it and the same people who loved Clinton and Kerry do nothing but criticize him. Amazing. Saying he only invaded Iraq because Hussein tried to assassinate his dad is painfully simplistic. Did Hussein try to assassinate Clinton's or Kerry's dads?

    To be against the war in Iraq is to be FOR genocide, torture, infanticide and all manner of evil. The same is true for Afghanistan. The Taliban was one of the most evil bunch of bastards this world has ever known. I guess you would prefer that they were still killing children by the thousands.

    "The only reason he was invaded was because Bush and Co. were abject and utter failures at hunting down the real terrorists, Osama bin Laden and company."

    We have captured or killed many of the people involved in 9/11. Bin Laden is living in his own shit in a cave somewhere and dressing up as a woman to go out in public. I guess you've been ignoring all the news stories about 9/11 terrorists being captured because it interferes with your desire to criticize Bush. In fact, I've always wondered what people like you feel when you here about American victories. Are you disappointed? Did the heroism of the Iraqi people defying the terrorists among them and walking to the polls have any effect on you whatsoever? Or did you just shake your head in denial? Do you believe humanity is one family? Or is your compassion for suffering people limited to those within your own borders, or people who look like you and speak the same language? Do you think any good was done by taking Hussein and the Taliban out? Do you really despise terrorists? If the answer to all those questions is yes, as you have indicated, why do you oppose this war so vehemently?

    "They had FAILED in Afghanistan, and Bush needed a "victory" right away to assuage the drive for retaliation that Americans were making at that time, and he knew when he did it that there were no weapons of Mass Destruction."

    The Taliban were destroyed in Afghanistan and they're gone forever. How is that a failure?

    Re. WMD's, Bush was told repeatedly by his own head of intelligence that Hussein had WMD's. He asked him repeatedly and he said, "Mr. President, it's a slam dunk." Hussein aroused suspicion himself by constantly kicking out inspectors or denying access to various facilities, by threatening to use WMD's against America if we attacked him, and by actually USING them in Halapja in 1988 when thousands were killed by chemical gas! So why shouldn't we have thought that he had WMD's?

    If a cop pulls someone over and asks to search his vehicle, and the person says no, shouldn't the cop be suspicious that he is hiding something?

    "We are in Iraq solely because Saddam had once tried to have Bush's father assasinated and because you and people like you won't admit that Bush pulled a fast one on the American people."

    "Again, Kerry and Clinton both wanted to take out Hussein, too - a fact you liberals don't like to mention because it disrupts your seething hatred for Conservatives. "You and people like you" won't admit that Bush has the hardest job any president in the history of America has had - fighting an enemy with no borders, no code of conduct, no respect for the rules of engagement or the Geneva Convention, and who will hide behind women and children to save themselves. Again, any suggestions on how we should fight them? Or should we just ignore them and hope they go away?

    "Now don't assume (as most rightwingers do) that I am attacking you because I don't agree with you. I happen to think you're rather intelligent considering where you're coming from. I simply don't think this "poem" does what it purports to do."

    Well, by putting the word "poem" in quotations, you yet again talked down to me. I don't "purport" do anything with this poem. It is just my opinion. I don't care if anyone disagrees with it or has a problem with it, but I'm not going to listen to liberal drivel and not address it. I've seen evil up close. A man was shot in the chest right in front of me because some evil slug wanted his money. He died in my arms, looking into my eyes. I put my hand over the hole in his chest as the blood shot out through my fingers. I breathed into his dead lungs trying to bring him back. I've walked through crime scenes filled with blood and gore. The terrorists we are fighting - or any terrorist - are capable of the same kind of evil and much, much worse. The only way to fight them is to seek them out and crush them mercilessly, as they would do to us if they had a chance. The old songs that say "love is all you need" and "War, what's it good for? Absolutely nothing", etc., are all lovely and sweet but total nonsense. War is necessary and even good sometimes. There is naked aggression in this world that must be fought by decent people. The Islamic terrorists would become the Nazi's of our generation if they were left to their own devices.

    "I think you can do better, and I know you can, because I've read some other things you're written. It's always bad to write from a faulty basis of reasoning, because it puts you in the wrong light. You begin to sound like a fanatic yourself."

    You have your opinion and I have mine. Assuming mine is the "faulty" one is arrogant. Both of us are probably right and wrong in various ways. Neither of us has the corner on truth, particularly when it comes to this confusing situation. I can admit that I don't know all the ins and outs of everything that is going on with this war, but I do know how to deal with evil. I would love it if humanity as a whole was finally enlightened and war was no longer necessary, but (many) human beings are violent, territorial, primitive creatures, and they must be stopped. So again, check out the videos at www.michaelsavage.com to get a better idea of the kind of monsters we're dealing with this time, then let me know what we should do about them.

    Why do you think so many Iraqi's keep voluntarily signing up for the police and military, despite repeated attacks on them by the fanatics in their midst? Because they want a better future for themselves, their families and their country than they had under Hussein.

    Here's that site again. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the home videos the terrorists made -

    www.michaelsavage.com

    Here's another lovely photo album of Hussein's atrocities. You'll also find one of my poems there, which many Iraqi's have written to me thanking me for. If I seem a little argumentative, it's because I put a lot more importance on their opinion than yours.

    www.massgraves.info



    Edited on May 27, 12:45 because ''.
  • ecrivain01 silver member
    May 27, 2005
    Edit | Reply
    It is intriguing to read the comments on this. I did not much care for the poem, as it is too much of a rant, and too little of a poem. The big thing about your poem, however, is that you have never mentioned that the people you call terrorists are often religious fanatics. I agree that religious fanatics are bad people, almost always. That includes Christian religious fanatics too. However, if you propose to go out and kill all religious fanatics who don't agree with you, your argument begins to fall apart. The most interesting thing about your "poem" is that you don't even allow for the possibility that anybody might have a religious view different from yours, and that, therefore, they are simply all evil people. I despise terrorists, but I am also smart enough to know that there are all kinds of terrorists, and that most of them are religion driven. Your Boykins and the monsters who bomb abortion clinics are terrorists too. I would go so far as to say that anybody who tries to force their ideas on anyone else is essentially a terrorist. Arguing is fine, in its place, but when you presume that your ideas are right and theirs are wrong, you have stepped into a gray area where you can then begin to work up your arguments for violence. The people who committed 9/11 were evil people in my opinion too, but they were NOT Iraqis. Not one of them was an Iraqi. Most of them were citizens of Saudi Arabia, Bush's buddies in the Moslem world. I am sick to death of hearing people defend the invasion of Iraq because they say that Saddam was involved with 9/11. That is a vicious lie. Saddam was an evil ruler, of course, but he had nothing to do with 9/11. The only reason he was invaded was because Bush and Co. were abject and utter failures at hunting down the real terrorists, Osama bin Laden and company. They had FAILED in Afghanistan, and Bush needed a "victory" right away to assuage the drive for retaliation that Americans were making at that time, and he knew when he did it that there were no weapons of Mass Destruction. We are in Iraq solely because Saddam had once tried to have Bush's father assasinated and because you and people like you won't admit that Bush pulled a fast one on the American people. Now don't assume (as most rightwingers do) that I am attacking you because I don't agree with you. I happen to think you're rather intelligent considering where you're coming from. I simply don't think this "poem" does what it purports to do. I think you can do better, and I know you can, because I've read some other things you're written. It's always bad to write from a faulty basis of reasoning, because it puts you in the wrong light. You begin to sound like a fanatic yourself. I agree with Heather mostly. I hope you'll think about what I said before the attack anyway.

  • Mark Rickerby gold member
    April 4, 2005
    Edit | Reply
    Hi Keena,

    Sorry for taking so long to respond to your comment on this one. I haven't been spending much time here lately.

    I'm sorry to hear your uncle was killed on 9/11. You can rest assured that the people responsible are either dead, captured or living miserable lives on the run now, thanks to President Bush and the allied forces.

    Thanks again. I hope you and your family are doing well.

    Mark

  • God Makes Miracles
    March 15, 2005
    Edit | Reply
    Mark this was very compelling. This poem sums up what america itself is feeling. I want to thank you for writing this. My uncle was killed on 9/11 and even though we were not close he was still blood and it saddened my heart. You have great talent and a supberb way of writing. Keep up the great work. I will however be reading more of your muse in the very near future. I always think you have a way of writing that draws people to read because everyone is asking themselves what is Mark going to write next.

  • Grieving-Willow
    February 8, 2005
    Edit | Reply
    Damn, it took me forever to read and comment on this huh? Sorry it has taken me so long to do so. This is an awesome write Uncle Mark, I admire your passion and strong emotions and morals regarding these "people" "idiots" whatever people like to characterize them as, each line I read I totally agreed and in unison with you upon, I especially like the line where you expressed a US Solider kicking them, damn straight, Americans are compassionate souls but Geez, enough is enough! Great piece Uncle Mark, one of the best and favorites written by you <