What I find interesting is that so much of his time is focused on complaining about the U.S. Is the U.S. such an overwhelming focus in Netherlands? We certainly don't spend our time focusing on Netherlands here and I don't recall such negativity directed towards Netherlands during their economic crisis which only started to recover around 2005. Good job, the Dutch, on that. The U.S. should be looking closer at the actions the Dutch took, as many economists are.

The possibility of an economic fall here is indeed in everyone's minds. We are well aware of it. China may be the one country with the power to cause it to happen. It is also well known that the primary goals of the EU is a comparative superpower: politically, economically, and militarily. That is why polls show most Americans consider the economy the number 1 issue in the election. More important than the war in Iraq. Interesting that the majority of Americans want the border closed and immigration dealth with without amnesty yet that is the opposite of what Obama and Clinton plan to do. Americans will be forced, again, to vote for whichever candidate they feel will best move the country forward and they will be forced to focus on the issues most important to them. They are prepared to sacrifice some issues for those most important today.

Often, the U.S. does the dirty work with the agreement of the European and Asian nations while they foot the bill (or a lot of it anyway). Iraq changed that. Everyone knows that the entire world despises America and Americans now. Walter's opinions of Americans are so wrong though. He considers all Americans to be completely ignorant of the current situation at home and abroad. I don't know where he gets his information but it certainly is not reliable.

He may get more response and actually a constructive discussion if he could stop presenting his views in such a degrading, superior manor. It comes across as holier than thou and smacks of jealousy and resentment all too often. I don't know him personally, so I don't know if that is his typical demeanor. It certainly is the common thread in his messages though from this point of view.





>The US was (a substantial) part of the allied forces and we were liberated by the allied forces. I don't see any problem in claiming that the US too did liberate the Dutch. Walter's remark otherwise can easily been interpreted as a denial of the important role of the US and their many losses in WW2. I certainly do not side with Walter on this one.
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>>Typical of you Walter. I didn't write billions anywhere. Once again you attempt to minimize or negate anything positive about the U.S. Once again you refuse to see the forest through the trees. I never claimed the U.S. liberated Netherlands. I write, you read something totally different. Whatever suits your purpose. Your views are extremely jaded Walter and you are very close minded when it comes to the U.S. Very dissappointing.
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>>>We already did and are doing by helping the US out in every war they start.
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>>>>If Netherlands would give back the billion dollars they received from the U.S. in the Marshall Plan, it would be a start.
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>>>1.2 billion, still significant and it helped us out, but not billions.
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>>>>Or perhaps the U.S. could charge Netherlands for the action our troops saw there during WWII which according to your previous posts was so minimal as to be non-existant.
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>>>The US did not liberate the Netherlands. Canada did. And perhaps the US could pay us now since the NATO has almost begged the Dutch government to stay in uruzgan.