More army chaplaincy

[Terrance]

Cyrus wrote:
> 
> Again, this is very nice, and to the point, but I still think waging a
> war without explicit international consent makes other countries
> distrustful. 

Since very few wars will ever be conducted with explicit international
consent this is a given, war makes nations distrustful of other nations.
War, contrary to the foolish "Pynchon as propaganda" theory, is not good
for the world economy or any economy in the world. This war has been an
economic drag on every economy in the world. It's amazing that
Argentina, Brazil, South Korea, a few others, are doing better than
expected, given their economic/political challenges, despite the drag
this war is having on the world economy. Nations don't want to go to war
and they sure don't want the locomotive pulling the world economy (the
USA) to go to war. So getting international consent to go to war, no
matter what the reason,  is no easy task. That being said, the USA and
the so-called coalition of the willing acted for an international
consent that refused to act. The UN talked the talk, but the coalition
walked the walk. 



Who ever said France, Germany and Russia are governed by
> saints? 

Not you and not me, but I just wanted to point out one of the things
their their anti-war positions are governed by. 


What do you think the USA appears like in the eyes of the people
> in the Arab countries, 

I don't believe there is a single "Arab people"  view of the USA. 
However, it's obvious that the USA will need to work hard to improve its
image. 



in the Far East, 

Again, the "far East" doesn't have a single pan-view of the USA. This is
a bit offf topic. 


in Africa etc.? 

Or do you not care about them?

Well, if you're asking me if I care what Africans think about the USA my
answer is yes of course. But, like you, I've lived outside the USA and I
know how complex these views of the USA are and I know that views can
change very quickly.