I understand the need to be pragmatic, though. For instance, in a war against terrorism, we would get very far if we didn't have Musharraf helping us. He happens to be a benign dictator, but he's a dictator nonetheless. So do we withdraw our support from him and then lose a wealth of intelligence data he provides us and the blind eye he turns when we do covert ops near his border and within his country?
What about the more important ally, Saudi Arabia? If we declared war on Saudi Arabia, or at the least, stopped our support for them, I wonder what would happen. Maybe $100 oil, as they get back at us. I don't know.
Those are tough choices our Presidents have made. I would like to say that I would not support any dictator at all. But when faced with a desire to bring someone like Osama to justice, I think I might enlist as many allies as possible in the region to get him first. Then pressure those allies to reform afterwards.
I see it differently than you. During the 1960s, for the first time in its history, the US had to begin importing some of its oil. During the 1970s and after the Arabs turned off the oil spigot, the US began currying the favor of the Saudis........the country with the largest oil reserves in the world. On the surface, that seems pretty logical. However, there was another approach we could have taken. We could have taken serious steps to reduce our oil dependency, eventually eliminating it. Now that would have been the much harder road to plow but think of what would have followed had we made a real commitment to going down that road.
There would have been less behind-the-scenes US involvement in the ME.......less need to support Saddam in an effort to offset the Iranians. Less need to come to Kuwait's defense against Saddam. Less need to set up bases in Saudi Arabia. A lower profile in the ME and probably Osama would have ignored us. After all, Osama's goal is not to bring down the US but rather Saudi Arabia. There wouldn't have been the UN's oil for food program and Bush II would not have been plotting to attack Iraq. In fact, the neocon movement probably would still be in its infancy.
You say we need questionable friends like Musharraf. I say we need them because we weren't willing to take the harder road back in the 1970s. And that we are paying for our lack of diligence and discipline and will continue to pay on into the future. Now we want to mess up a place like ANWR. Where will it all end?
ted |
