Very well put. I get incredibly frustrated at the fact that when people talk about historical events (the Twin Towers, Vietnam, what have you), all too often they don't take into account the context of the event and what led up to it. During the Cold War, our government supported foreign leaders who were little more than thugs (including Saddam, but after all he was OUR thug), simply because those thugs were opposed to the USSR. During World War II, we promised the Vietnamese that we'd support them in their bid for independence from the French. After the war, we reneged on that promise to maintain good relations with France. Is it any wonder the world doesn't see us as their knight in shining armor? Lie down with dogs and you'll get up with fleas.