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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Karen Lawrence who wrote (57789)	11/19/2002 1:19:55 AM
From: Hawkmoon	Respond to of 281500

Karen... There are going to be "messes" for years to come... The problem with Afghanistan, in large part, is that no one power has been able to decisively centralize sufficient power in order to make progress. Everyone wants to be a king, and few of the leaders actually care about the welfare of their people. The true mess involves the demographics of the region, with 40% of all muslims being under the age of 18. We have to become more involved in the region, both politically and economically, in order to prevent militants and radicals from gaining dominance there (even if through brute force). I don't know what you perceive as the perspective of the "arabs on the street" but it's clear they respect the use of power, both domestically and internationally. They will cheer whoever they perceive is "winning" the war in order to insure they are on the "right side".. There are hundreds of millions of young muslims looking for the "winning side"... Looking to see what side the "bread is buttered on" with regard to their futures. If they see despair, they will fight. If they see hope, they will grasp it just as most of us grasp life itself. And it's going to be up to the US and the West to create the conditions where they have that hope, even if at the expense of current "stability" in the region. And we can't do that by being meek and mild.. We have to do it by being forceful.. But we have to be forceful with a purpose... namely greater economic opportunity for muslims. And to deny the militant reactionaries the ability to attract large numbers of young hearts and minds. Hawk