>>>I agree here, too, generally. Where I disagree is that I don't think trade or making American brands coveted will remove the "Great Satan" label as that comes from a different mentality. I mean, look, there are crowds in the streets of Middle Eastern cities burning the American flag while sipping Coke and wearing Nikes.
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>>Why do you think 'great satan' is comming from 'mentality' ? Do you actually think that young Palestinians or Iraqees or some other crowds burn American flag because they envy your sunday BBQ? Nothing to do with US foreign policies at all ?
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>Now let's be fair. The U.S. is guilty of many things, and its policies are often more a tragedy than anything else with or without good intentions. IMHO, The U.S. needs to pull out of every country everywhere and keep its $ and its people at home. When a country lets any business, such as McDonalds, in the door though, that is the fault of the country which lets it in and not the U.S.

The last sentence can be taken seriously only after the first one is done.

> However, most of those who are out there burning the U.S. flag and becoming suicide bombers or planting IEDS are doing it 1: for the money, 2: because a religious leader told them they should and filled their minds with extremist ideology.

Such ideology didn't stop the US from helping the KLA/OVK, who once marched carrying large pictures of Tito, were led by high ranking members of The Party and were themselves members, many of them. Then they forgot that and became big amerophiles, while having their mullahs (hojas, as they are called in the area) preach outbreeding everyone else, condemning any family with less than five kids and highly praising those with ten or more... and then using those kids as live shield when police came to take back its station, or to unblock the railroad.

So... can't be against religious extremism and terrorism of one kind in one place, and support the same kind, and the same people, in another. Shoots one's credibility full of holes. And don't tell me that the communist overlay was camouflage - in that case, how can you trust their love for America? There are ample hints that they're just trying to milk the situation for what it's worth.

>One, if not the, of the most basic and common causes of terrorism is poverty. If world poverty were eradicted, then terrorism and extreme ideologies will trickle down to almost nothing.

Agree. Globalization is good... but unfortunately, the noble idea was done upside down. Not a first.