niemand, it's a bit too late for leaving. Having said A, we must say B, C, and the rest of the alphabet. If the goal is to improve the subjective opinion of US in the eyes of the world, (this is what you're talking about, no?) destroying something and leaving without setting it right would be extremely counterproductive. Giving out monetary reparations woud be aking to leting a goat guard the cabbage patch. The money will never reach the intended recipients, it will disappear into pockets of corrupt officials.
Size matters as far as visibility. Pick a random schoolchild from somewhere in the third world and ask them about Switzerland. More than likely, they'll confuse it with Sweden. You know, another one of those little countries somewhere in that salad known as Europe. US is quite easy to point to on the map. It's not only highly visible because of size and location. US culture is rather pervasive due to the size of the economy. Everyone in the world has seen several American movies, but the Swiss film industry is rather less prominent. Also, I've never heard of a Switzerland-based fast-food chain.
Removing US fingers from a few pies around the world would be beneficial, but total isolationism is rather impractical. Politics and money are too closely tied for that.
Israel will always be tied to US, like it or not. That is simply a fact of life. There is a large Jewish population in US. They have friends and relatives in Israel, they vote and therefore influence the foreign policy in that regard. Also, being on good terms with Israel is to our benefit since they are becoming quite a force in scientific research. Oh, and were it not for them, we wouldn't have the Desert Eagle.
lostone, what part of the concept of US citizenship do you not understand? A citizen is a citizen is a citizen, regardless of where they are born. There are no degrees of citizenship. Citizens have rights. A right taken from one citizen is taken from all citizens. Yes, that means you. Not all people currently in custody are foreign-born. Ever heard of Jose Padilla? He's from Chicago. Where would you send him?
Pointing to things that have been done "throughout history" is a rather poor argument. History is full of injustices. I would point to Chinese, Irish and Jews as groups that were treated rather badly with regard to immigration into US. Are you saying that was OK?
