Mike, re: I worry too, but i think we have to give self determination a chance. This isnt the vietnam election as others would have us believe. It will only approach that if we become pessimists now. The violence will continue but the iraqis are taking their first steps toward nation building.
Mike, I think you're absolutely right. But is that a good thing?
Let's take your analogy to the elections in Vietnam. Many believe, and I agree, that if we'd have stood aside and let the Vietnamese vote for unification with the north, they'd have approved it. We didn't because that was just what we didn't want. In standing in the way of their "nation building" we thought we were protecting our interests but what we were really doing was trying to permanently dam up a stream that kept rising and overcoming our dam.
Now let's take a look at Iraq. In Iraq we have been FORCED, by the cleric Sistani and the Sunni insurgents, to ALLOW a vote that will likely empower the very people we have previously labeled as dangerous and radical. In doing so we may be allowing what you term "nation building." (That will depend on what tricks the Bush radicals have up their sleeves to try to control the direction of the new "nation.") But assuming that we are going to allow the people of that country to build the "nation" of their choice, and after all the civil wars and bloodshed is over, what kind of nation will they have built and will it have been worth bankrupting our government and sacrificing the lives and health of so many of our soldiers?
It looks more and more like things are out of our hands and that the "nation" that's being built will ultimately be a threat to us and an ally of nations that are opposed to our goals. It may be as Buchanon suggests, if you believe that democracy is a cure all, why not let those radicals vote and then see how you like the resulting intolerant, threatening and increasingly less democratic regime that takes hold.
Democracy doesn't mean shit when it comes to protecting American interests and promoting the safety of Americans. On the other hand, leaving people alone, refraining from interfering in their sovereign affairs, and following the maxim of carry a big stick for defense, not aggression, will ultimately promote our interests and protect our citizens.
But then that's just about the opposite of the Bush Doctrine, isn't it? Ed |
