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Politics : GOPwinger Lies/Distortions/Omissions/Perversions of Truth
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To: James Calladine who wrote (16051)7/11/2004 12:18:39 PM
From: Karen Lawrence  Read Replies (1) of 173976
 
"No young American should be held hostage to our America's dependency on oil," Mr Kerry said at a campaign speech in North Carolina, his running mate's home state. For now, we are held hostage and have been. From Cato Institute August 91: "Ancient History": U.S. Conduct in the Middle East
Since World War Il and the Folly Of Intervention
by Sheldon L. Richman

Sheldon L. Richman is senior editor at the Cato Institute.

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Executive Summary

When Iranian revolutionaries entered the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979 and seized 52 Americans, President Jimmy Carter dismissed reminders of America's long intervention in Iran as "ancient history." Carter's point was not merely that previous U.S. policy could not excuse the hostage taking. His adjective also implied that there was nothing of value to be learned from that history. In his view, dredging up old matters was more than unhelpful; it was also dangerous, presumably because it could only serve the interests of America's adversaries. Thus, to raise historical issues was at least unpatriotic and maybe worse.(1)

As the United States finds itself in the aftermath of another crisis in the Middle East, it is worth the risk of opprobrium to ask why there should be hostility toward America in that region. Some insight can be gained by surveying official U.S. conduct in the Middle East since the end of World War II. Acknowledged herein is a fundamental, yet deplorably overlooked, distinction between understanding and excusing. The purpose of this survey is not to pardon acts of violence against innocent people but to understand the reasons that drive people to violent political acts.(2) The stubborn and often self-serving notion that the historical record is irrelevant because political violence is inexcusable ensures that Americans will be caught in crises in the Middle East and elsewhere for many years to come.

more: cato.org
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