From: "Mark Hessey" 


"John Cuccia"  wrote: I will say that,
over the past 50 years, we have sided with
> nearly every Arab country against nearly every other, depending on the
> requirements of our Cold War strategy and our desire to keep oil
> flowing as freely as possible.  We've propped up corrupt regimes,
> including Saddam's, and we've switched sides on what must seem, to
> people who bear thousand-year-old grudges, whims...

Yes, these thoughts are true and Bush agrees with you:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/11/20031106-2.html
President Bush Discusses Freedom in Iraq and Middle East "... Sixty
years of Western nations excusing and accommodating the lack of freedom in
the Middle East did nothing to make us safe -- because in the long run,
stability cannot be purchased at the expense of liberty. As long as the
Middle East remains a place where freedom does not flourish, it will remain
a place of stagnation, resentment, and violence ready for export. And with
the spread of weapons that can bring catastrophic harm to our country and
to our friends, it would be reckless to accept the status quo. Therefore,
the United States has adopted a new policy, a forward strategy of freedom
in the Middle East. This strategy requires the same persistence and energy
and idealism we have shown before. And it will yield the same results. As
in Europe, as in Asia, as in every region of the world, the advance of
freedom leads to peace.

The advance of freedom is the calling of our time; it is the calling of our
country. From the Fourteen Points to the Four Freedoms, to the Speech at
Westminster, America has put our power at the service of principle. We
believe that liberty is the design of nature; we believe that liberty is
the direction of history. We believe that human fulfillment and excellence
come in the responsible exercise of liberty. And we believe that freedom --
the freedom we prize -- is not for us alone, it is the right and the
capacity of all mankind. ..."

--- BBBS/NT v4.01 Flag-5