Being from a country that differs a lot from the US in almost everything I can't really relate to many of this issues.
Just a few notes:
Foreign policy: If someone gets fucked up over and over again they will eventually explode. It happened when the USA was formed, throwing out the English. It happened/happens in Africa when old colonies are being liberated. And it happens now in Iraq, Afghanistan etcetera. There is a reason why they are mad at the UK and the USA. They have nothing against the American Way of Life or any of that bullshit. The thing is that we in the west have over and over fucked them up and stole their resources (in this case mostly gas).
If a fraction of the money spent by the EU and the US in controlling this region with arms had been spent investigation in this region again we would not have had this war.
Regarding the gun-thing, that I can't even begin to understand, here are some photos from Liberia:
http://www.widelec.org/?site=detail&skad=rss&id=1170