From Kari

From Argentina
Elsie forwarded the following letter from "Kari", an Agentinian student who stayed with Elsie a few years ago. This letter gives some perspective on how others view our nation and its leaders.

Its so sad what its going on in Irak, and it's also sad what the soldiers do to the prisioners.

Most of the people in Argentina is no agree with what is USA doing (when u live in another country its not only about what is doing Bush Jr. or Blair but its about what the [whole] country does, so that its why I say USA). Even if we read the polls, nobady thinks: "well the half of the american is not agree." From the begining we knew that it was all about the petrol oil, and also about the unfinish war that Bush Father had with Saddam H.

It is too bad, that many people around the world think the worst of USA and if USA falls that will be better. I think that it will take years for people around the world to have a good opinion of USA and probably more terrorist attacks u will have cause of the anger that this is causing, we hope that this will no happend of course.

I'm so lucky to know the great and good people that u are, but not everyone can see that, not if they didn't live in the USA for at least more than a month. I get so mad when someone that when to the USA for holidays say something bad about the Americans, I just say, do u think that because u went to the USA FOR 15 DAYS u are gonna know how americans really are?? You may be stupit if u think that!!! and I laugh!

But u know when something like what is going on in Irak happend its too hard to make them understand that not everyone is like Bush, people think that its to have more and more power, there is much more going on in the USA than that, but trust me that it's hard to make their minds. A good book to read its "The Paradox of the US" by Robert Kennedy. He talks about the hard and Soft power of the US, how important its for the future of your country.

In Argentina we also have problems with the price of the oil, it gets higher and higher. Here a gallon cost about USD 4, last week there were a lot of protests about the price and it we will be having problems because it goes get higher. Its so funny and ridiculous that we have our own petrol and there left is only one Argentina company who works with the petrol, the other one are from other country, but what its more funny it that we buy petrol from this companies and its the petrol that they get from our soil!!! That is what Argentina in [presume] its about!!! Good god, how sad..how stupids.. or how corrups its the goverment!! to be realistic.

From Karina X