Too many thoughts to commit to cyberspace all at once. But a few notes:

Re: Why America Is Hated, (aka Be Careful What You Ask For):

MEA CULPA! OR PERHAPS THAT SHOULD BE, NOSTRA CULPA!:

We the citizens of the United States, humbly apologize for the following crimes
of the last century:

1. Our interventrion in WWI, which prevented the establishment of Prussian hegemony
in Europe and the widespread application of their policy of wholesome friendship
towards other states. This wonderful policy was illustrated, in the best possible
way, by their treatment of the people of Belgium.

2. Our intervention in WWII. Herr Hitler had come so close to uniting the nations
of Europe in peaceful harmony, and then we had to go and blow it. Ah, you'll
say, it was just a knee-jerk reaction to Pearl Harbor. True, our policy of Lend-Lease
had nothing to do with the survival of Britain at all. Oh, and by the way, if
we hadn't messed things up so badly at this juncture, the whole problem of Israeli-Palestinian
relations would never have arisen in the first place. There wouldn't be enough
of those fascistic Jews left breathing for anyone to worry about!

3. The Marshall Plan: What an obvious trap for the people of Western Europe!
We should have let them overcome their temporary economic difficulties on their
own. Then they'd have felt strong and independant. At least, those who were
alive would have.

4. The Berlin Airlift: What an unconscionable interference in the affairs of
a foreign nation. What right thinking government could have permitted such a
thing? 
 
5. Our intervention in Greece and Turkey: We should obviously have allowed these
countries to work out their own futures. If they were destined to be Stalinst
states, who were we to interfere?

6. Our blatant interference in the affairs of Cuba during the Cuban Missle Crisis:
If Fidel wanted to have some nuclear missles to play with... Well, he knows
best. Just ask some of the poets and others who enjoy his hospitality in Cuban
jails.

7. Our relentless harrassment of the Soviet Union. These "Friends of Progressive
Humanity" should obviously have been permitted to do whatever they wished, without
the restraint of our imperialist Armed Forces standing in their way. And as
for that Polish Pope... What bunglers the Bulgarians are!

8. Hungary '56. Prague '68: We did way too much.

9. I've lost my chronological sense and left out the Korean War... What a beautiful
future we deprived the South Koreans of! Under the cherished guidance of the
"Dear Leader", they could have made so much more progress than they have. Why,
they could actually be a nation of subsistance farmers experiencing a famine
today. But no, we had to interfere again and ruin it all. 

10. Don't get me started on SE Asia. What we did to delay the victory of the
Viet Cong and of Pol Pot was awful. Think how much more time they'd have had
to bring discipline to that part of the world if we'd only stayed home. 

11. Those Chinese students about ten years ago? Again, we did way too much.

12. The Gulf War: One of the greatest of our crimes. If only Saddam Hussein could
be in control of 1/4 of the world's oil supply, I think we'd all sleep beter.
I know the population of Kuwait would, large numbers of them permanently.

For all these misdeeds, especially those which cost us the lives of hundreds
of thousands of our own citizens, (Cf. WWII), we humbly ask pardon. We will
now retreat meekly behind our own natural, and easily defended borders, and
bother the world no more. This will meet, in full, the proper demands of those
wise statesmen who navigated the planes last Tuesday. 

I am sure the women of Afghanistan will rejoice in the permanent rule of the
Taliban, that the Japanese will do their best to learn Chinese, and that the
Palestinians will be far more efficient in their work than that that Austrian
house painter.

Our bad,