Fish, I should qualify my criticism of the US is levelled at the ruling Cabal and not all the people. I have good friends in America who are generally dismayed at the direction their country is heading
A strong grassroots movement is working towards impeachment of Bush
Increasingly, Americans are becoming aware of the lies and distortions of Cheney, Rumsfeld, Bush, Wolfowitz, Rice, Rove et al
in their pre-9/11 agenda to invade Iraq.The information is out there if you bother to read sources other than the compliant American media

I agree the Iraqis should be asked about arrainging Bush and his cohorts..Ensure the families who lost loved ones as a result of the Shock & Awe campaign and the survivors in Fallujah and Ramadi have a say.

The pros and cons of invading country's with despot leaders and governments,to save a suffering population,and to protect ones own possible threat to security can be argued until the cowes come home.
However to use Iraq as a case in point to justify the carnage and death that has been visited apon its people is an insult to the intelligence.

The current junta running the U.S. by any stretch of the imagination is down right dangerous,and its leader George Bush ,should be locked away in a funny farm.This retard makes Nixon look like a social worker,thank God under the U.S. constitution this moron can't run again.However that said, I rejoice because men of sound mind and good hearts are on to this shower of sh#@ bags and it is odds on a lot of them will end up in jail.

I can only pray that the U.S. elections are held before the next folly in the offing Iran, which could lead to W.W.3.But of course the right wing num nuts will think this is a gift from God,finally the chance to rid the world of all the mis-informed chardonay swilling lefty's, social engineers,and all the other do gooders that are trying to stop the rape and plunder of the planet and its people who according to them havn't a clue what is going on.

Pity - - looks like contributers to this forum want to ramble on about inane generalities rather than state specifics. A common but boring tactic.

Leigh:"170,000,000 people killed by their own ‘governments’ in 60 years. How many in the ‘evil’ Western countries many of our friends are continually rubbishing on OLO?"
Actually a fair number of them. Germany is "western" by anyone's definition. And Russia is arguably so.
And I can't imagine why you put "invasion" in quotes. The army called it an invasion. Why shouldn't the rest of us? Look up "invasion" in a dictionary. I'll think you'll find the word applies perfectly.
I'm about as anti-communist as they come and certainly make no excuses for Mao (R.I.H.). But I think it worth noting that that if FDR hadn't baited and goaded the Japs into attacking the deliberately vulnerable target of PH (see DAY OF DECEIT, I forget the author's name)because he was itching to get into a war most Americans wanted no part of Mao would never have come to power. Our involvement in WWII brought us Communist China and a tremendous increase in the power of the USSR.
As for those African countries the difference in treatment is not because they are black. Indeed, most of the (idiotic) support for intervention in African affairs always from the political left. The difference is because those countries pose no threat to Israel. And Bush is essentially an Israeli puppet who has betrayed American interest for those of a foreign power. Technically, this is known as "treason".