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

To: Sun Tzu who wrote (85266)	3/23/2003 6:33:33 PM
From: The Philosopher	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

Our foreign policy has the goal of putting us in control of other countries by proxy. I don't see that, personally. What countries? Are we trying to be in charge of Iran? Syria? We tried to buy what we wanted from Turkey, but they didn't want to give. But that's not controlling the country. Egypt? Saudia? If we controlled them by proxy they would look a lot different. I agree that we try to export the ideas of 18th century liberal thought. (Ironic that the Republicans are perhaps the strongest proponents of exporting liberal thought.) We certainly do promote the concepts of the French and American revolutions to replace monarchies with democratically based societies. But I don't see that as trying to control them. After all, I don't know of a single nation which doesn't try to use whatever tools of persuasion it has available to try to advance what it sees as its national interests wrt other nations. Russia does, China does, France, Germany, Sweden, New Zealand, Togo, Brazil, they all do. And should. What makes it even worse is that it is based on the sentiment "I'd rather see 100 of them dead than one of us", which may make sense in combat, but is the wrong approach during peace. That's a nice sound bite, but think about it. Would you really want a government running the country who didn't feel that way in the bottom line? That's the way humans are. I don't want to see anybody die unnecessarily. (We all die, so it's foolish to say I don't want to see anybody die, that's just plain dumb.) But if people have to die, yes, I would rather that 100 French children die than that one of my own children die. Sorry, but that's the way I am. And if you're married and you have children, I sure hope, for their sakes, that you feel the same way.