Marcia, I personally have nothing against you and if I come across as harsh in my answers to you, please don't take it personally.

No worries, Lindy. I think most of us here read with an open heart.

Yes, the Taliban is bad. Yes Al Queda is bad.
But we have supported both groups in the past.
We are not lily white.

True, that too had to change.

And revenge seems to somehow make us White Knights when we go in blowing up a country, it's innocent natives and destroying their commerce and culture.

Breach of trust for one.

There are no easy answers. Before we started bombing in Afganistan, we let hundreds of Taliban cross the border to Pakistan on purpose (some inside, sweet deal),

We? Once Karzai's government was in place, some of the Taliban and maybe even al Queda prisoners were released BY Afghanistan's new government.

and it's possible that Bin Laden escaped. Then there are stories of American soldiers confining hundreds of Taliban or Republican Guard and letting them go again. Weapons sales are up as countries flood both Afganistan and Iraq with weapons for new tribes of mercenaries/terrorists.
It's a hell hole, and perhaps one we shouldn't be in.

I think that the sooner Iraq establishes it's own "Democratic government", the better Iraqi's will be and eventually, the entire Middle East.

What we should have done is used the billions we've spent on "war" in other countries, here at home.
Building up the security in our ports, combining intelligence and making a concerted effort to protect us here at home. Perhaps with the international relations we had BEFORE our rush to war, we would have better co-operation from other countries and wouldn't have pissed off so many of them.

I think that's just it, BEFORE OBL & Company and even Saddam, there was no full trust and yearning to do the right thing, i.e., arm your enemy and letting them run amock to see how far they'll get. At home, that extra security would have been seen as a violation of personal freedom (and what's a metal detector for if you're going to let razor blades through!).

I hope the stepping all over will be over soon and everyone will make themselves accountable from government heads, clerics and overall funding of hate.

You can act like an Emperor and step all over everybody, but some day when you need a friend, you'll only find more enemies.
Hail Caesar!

Caesar, Hitler, Saddam, Mullah Omar
Taliban, OBL... morally permissible?