Ah yes, the Suez Canal. Good point. Just remember, the "evil" rebellion against the USA perped by figures such as Bin Lauden accuses of us neo-imperialism, wanting their oil for ourselves and corrupting the culture and converting them to Christianity, a neo-Crusade. Much of Bin Lauden's speeches are hysterical hateful exaggeration, but there is also a disturbing amount of truth in some of his words. Unfortunately for Bin Lauden his methods are so evil and repressive he can indeed be branded a grand villain by most of the world, but never discount the fact that the root causes of Bin Lauden are still there, and a takeover of Iraq done the wrong way could invite decades of additional anti-Americanism nd more Bin Laudens.
Bush says we're going in to disarm and protect the Iraqi people. But that's only half the truth at best and we all know it.
Getting off oil gradually and pulling out of there might be the far smarter idea. But Bush is going in deeper and deeper. Maybe in over his head.
Same issue when the inner-city riots sometimes. yes they are breaking the law and must be cracked-down on with police, but dont believe that simply cracking down solves the underlying problem. And remember that we too as Americans were once the rebels rioting and terrorizing the occupying imperialists. Looking back, were the British smart to send armies to conquer us, or would they have been better off and more beloved in the long-term by making a major compromise? Britain, Rome, Germany all lost their empires by spreading themselves too thin and going too far, including being at times too ruthless and full of themselves. While imperialism is not all bad and benfits some subjects, it is also a double-edged sword. Imperialism is at its heart a supremicist statement and there has to be financial profit it in for the imperialist. So dont expect the "subjects" of today not to see that, and not to bomb our McDonalds.
Al Qaida may be more of a symptom than a singular movement. They must be rooted out and killed. But at the same time our methods must be carefully thought-out as to long-term affects. We cannot afford to occupy half the world. We are already in so many countries with our military it's getting ridiculous. We've been in Korea for 45 years. So now it look as if we may be in Iraq for a long-long time too. Wars are easy to start but not as easy to end. Even Afghanistan isn't over yet. And wars like this should never be started for domestic political reasons, or to reward special interests like Big Oil campaign contributors. If this is why Bush is doing it, his judgement may be questionable. And there is nothing un-American about stating that. |
