Is the current global conflict a continuation of the same clash

[Feanorcurufinwe]

Poll question: Is the current global conflict a continuation of the same clash

of civilizations we saw manifested in the crusades?

[Bok_Tukalo]

1. I'm not sure

Was the Crusades a resource war?

[kaitykaity]

2. Good question.

I answered "yes" before I remembered that back then nobody
knew that our oil was under their sand.

[JHBowden]

3. No.

The problem isn't even with states, but with these fucked up terrorist organizations that operate anywhere.

[kaitykaity]

4. And the US-backed strongmen that spawn

the terrorists, of course. Right?

[JHBowden]

5. That, my friend, is false.

Hussein may have been a piece a shit, but he put the smackdown on the nutcase fundamentalists in his country. Contrary to Rummy & co, there were no terrorists in Iraq before we invaded, but indeed they are there now.

[kaitykaity]

6. Not just Iraq, though, right?

And we didn't back Saddam the past 12 years. How about
Saudi Arabia? Fifteen of the 19, all of that?

[JHBowden]

7. Bush has lied about a lot of stuff over the last 3+ years.

Hussein was nasty. However, his secular government never supported the terrorists.

[kaitykaity]

9. I didn't say he did.

In general terms, US-backed strongmen have spawned
terrorists all over the world. Terrorists don't just
spring up out of the ground. There's cause and effect
going on here.

[Aidoneus]

8. In a way, yes.

The right side won then; may it do so again?