A Case for Barack Hussein

I feel so sorry for our country, see you on four years I hope.

The middle east is a no win situation. Israel will NEVER be accepted. NO COMPROMISE will be offered from Palestine, Syria or any Arab nation, PERIOD. What do you suggest? Tell Israel they have to leave? That we were wrong to support you and now you are on your own? Iraq, for whatever reason we went in there, fabricated proof of WMD or oil, who gives a ***. Bad move we were wrong again, sorry. You can not pacify those people and more American kids will die before we get away from this BS. I am with DPOWELL. Pull out, cut our losses and wait. We won't be able to prevent future attacks on the US but, the only thing that will limit the attacks is to annihilate anyone associated with them. Unfortunately, any example would have to be made after the attack.

Ultimately, in a million years, we will all be one country. Today, we have a lot of innocent lives in ruins in Iraq and need to send in building supplies and not warriors with bullets. Obama will help mend the damages.

Peace- Interesting concept. How many mass graves are there in the middle east? If we leave them alone
then I guess they will just continue to kill each other by the thousands. Ok fine by me. I guess the US stopping the mass genocide was bad. And we should leave the east alone - I mean women are really no more then animals - right? And all the hate taught to the young by the zealots - hey thats just for fun.
All the blowing up of innocents is the US fault - Where does anybody think all this hate is going?
America should leave the Middle east with the statement- You attack us again and we carpet bomb you.
The middle east should take care of its own - I am not happy about Americans dieing for such hateful and ungrateful peoples. Religion = Hate & racisim.

"The Borgen Project has some good info on the cost of addressing global poverty.
$30 billion: Annual shortfall to end world hunger.
$540 billion: Annual U.S. Defense Budget."

As a country we really need to educate ourselves about the world around us. We are very immature, and that lack of understanding leads to some really warped thinking. I am in disbelief at the ignorance in this country as it relates not only to the Arab world, but the world at large. Remember freedom fries??? What a fuking embarassment. And as much as I hate to say it the French were right in not supporting the invasion of IRAQ.

A true message of peace! I comend Benchemsi and ask the US goverment and the corporate media to acknowledge this perspective (as well as Republicans nationwide). I have understood Benchemsi's perspective since before 2003 when the war started, but I have to ask now, why did Newweek wait until almost everyone has decided who to vote for? Is our democracy functioning when this viewpoint is supressed and through out the whole election campaign the idea that McCain is "strong" on defense is let pass by all of our corporate media? The Middle East is such a huge part of the whole world's future, and yet its future was not granted and intelligent discussion. I can't say I'm a patriot, but I do believe strongly in democracy. Why is it that those who consider themselves patriots can not respect demcracy. The reason that Benchemsi's perspective was not considered by our voters will persist long after the election and it needs to be confronted. It will take more than one election to restore America from its democratic crisis.

If McCain gets elected we are in for (at least) another 4 years of the same Bush doctrine that got us in the soup the last eight years. It is not only the Arab people who think this man is destructive. The last eight years have been the worst representation of the Presidential Office since we started this nation. GWB is a pathetic example of what poor choices can amount to. Obama clearly is not the ideal candidate but he is the lesser of two evils. I hope we have a better choice in 2012.

Truly message of peace! I commend Benchemsi for airing his perspective and I call on American leadership and corporate media to acknowledge it. But honestly in good conscience I need to condemn Newsweek for waiting until the day day of the election for reporting this point of view. John McCain has been toted as "strong" on defense but this article clearly challenges this. Why is this not allowed in US democracy? I've understood Benchemsi's perspective since before the war started . . . why is it against corporate policy to spread the word . . . that's a big question for Newsweek that will continue to be evaded long after this election. If anyone reading is patriotic, why can't they support true democracy?

ObamaNow : No, actually we were never attacked until after the first gulf war in Iraq, which was to protect the Kuwaiti oil ports, etc. We armed those under Osama Bin Laden when the USSR invaded Afganistan. We have a very mixed record in the middle east. This guy is not ranting, he is saying how it is. We sit over here and demonize Arab people without a clue as to what is really going on on the ground. Under our current president we have invaded a country without provocation, in an attempt to put ourselves square in the middle of Arab oil. Our government has embarassed us and created fertile ground for terrorist recruitment. So it is not necessarily America that is hated, it is our current incompetent leadership and this is what this article is about.

Great Idea, let's bail out of the middle east now. I am sure there are tons of parents here that would rather see nothing more than their sons and daughters returned home. Guess what, we're stuck now unless everyone really would rather the Middle East dissolve? Makes no difference to me, I would rather my boys were home here.

For Mr. Redwhiteandblue, not all terrorists are muslims, you should be semi educated to know that Tammil terrorists are not muslims, nor was Samson who destroyed the temple on his enemies , terrorism is older than Islam !!

As they say, not all Muslims are terrorists but all terrorists are muslims. You are mistaken if you believe we are out to appease the muslim nations. Here is a thought, why don't non-extremist muslims stop sitting on the side lines why we battle the extremists. If you want to sit and watch, then sit and watch but do it with your mouth shut. The Islamic religion does not tolerate freedoms which is what we have so this fight will likely last to the end of time.

Thank you for a well written article, Benchemsi. The Iraq war was a war founded on the lie and the premise that the dictator Saddam Hussein possessed WMDs, which he didn't. Now if that wasn't true, then what was? Our government should not be in Iraq squandering taxpayers money to the tune of $10billion monthly. We are slowly but surely degenerating into a second rate economy whose schools, bridges and other infrastructure are crumbling and because of this wasteful falsely declared war in Iraq. Many other Americans are out of employment and many more others on the verge of joining the dole. Yet some ignorant Americans still continue watching the propaganda spewed by our modern day Joseph Goebels types who rule talk radio-read:Limbaugh, or propagandists at Faux "News" read: Hannity and O'Reilly.

As a Muslim, an American, and a writer, I find this article both unresearched and scattered. The opinions lacks base and are representative of typical- Western "high" education or under-education.