Powell on Drugs

Well, it certainly looks that way after reading this article. The soon-to-be-ex-Secretary of State thinks "Muslims" will notice US generosity and suddenly realize that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are, you know, really nothing at all...

"What it does in the Muslim world, the rest of the world is giving an opportunity to see American generosity, American values in action," Powell said after meeting with Hassan Wirayuda, his Indonesian counterpart.

"America is not an anti-Islamic, anti-Muslim nation. America is a diverse society where we respect all religions," the secretary said

Powell said he hopes Muslim countries see the wide range of U.S. aid and involvement around the world, of which the disaster relief is only the latest example. U.S. involvement and cooperation "is in the best interest of those countries and it's in our best interest," he said.

Powell was careful to avoid unpleasantries like the fact that 44 percent of American citizens apparently have values that include restricting the right of Muslims (thanks to Tlachtga for the link), that the United States has for decades supported some of the vilest sets of rulers in areas where Muslims live--like the Middle East/Central Asia (Saddam, the Shah, the House of Saud, the Al Sabah's, to name a few), South Asia (Indonesia--remember Suharto?), and so on. Additionally, Powell managed to avoid explaining how our war spending is still outpacing our "generosity" to the tune of almost one thousand to one.

Ah, diplomacy.