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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Srexley who wrote (541523)	2/17/2004 3:23:22 PM
From: cnyndwllr	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 769669

Srexely, there are two sides to the issue and I grant you that your side has merit and logical appeal. I have NO PROBLEM with someone that holds the opinion that you hold. I see the rationale that supports it. Contrary to many of your compatriots who feel people that disagree with them are "anti-American," I understand that those that believe as you do are properly motivated and often have great integrity. I just disagree and believe that I am right. My main area of disagreement stems from my near-certainty that when you play "god" with another nation and decide what's best for them, how they should treat their citizens, what form of government they should accept and the timetable upon which they should "see the light," you're doomed by the lessons of history to do more harm than good. Every nation, every culture and every people come to civilization and enlightenment on their own schedule, through their own pain and through THEIR OWN SUFFERING. We can "help" but we can't be the leading force for change. What we've "bet the farm" on is that when we're through in Iraq we'll have "helped" the Iraqis and helped ourselves. By invading and removing their flawed government, we've interfered in the process of change that would have inevitably ended that corrupt regime (it always does, doesn't it). Now we've necessarily assumed the obligation and the repercussions of making life better in a nation that is clearly nowhere near being ready for "enlightened" government. When the "Islamic Nation of Iraq" is finally formed it is LIKELY to be a nation that fosters Islamic fundamentalism. It will likely be anti-western. It will still control a huge percentage of the known oil reserves in the world and that's a strategic problem for us that will increase in importance as cheap oil becomes scarce. It will likely become a greater refuge for those that share fundamentalist views. It is unlikely to become a "democracy." It is unlikely to foster human rights, the rights of women, the rights of minority religions or enlightened civilization in the sense we see it. It is unlikely to be moderate or pro-western. I say those things because we've created a power vacuum in Iraq and the only institutions on the ground that can fill that vacuum are the cleric controlled religious organizations that are even now fighting for control internally. What cost will we have paid for this dismal result. I start with the lives of those that have died in our service and with the wounds of those that have served for us. Next up is the tremendous amount of treasure that we've expended in the process of making war. What good could that money have done as a force of good in the world? Next up is the loss of cooperation that we've suffered post invasion from the countries that we most need in the fight against terrorism. Add in the hatred that permeates the Middle East and now has an outlet in hatred for America. Add in the loss of respect for America and American leadership. Add in the FEAR of American interventionalism that will have some good impacts, but will also have long term effects on armaments in countries like China and Eastern Europe. (No one likes to be held under the thumb of another through fear.) Finally, I truly believe that we could have put our efforts into Afghanistan and worked to finish off Al Queda and kept the high moral ground. In short, we didn't have to "bet the farm" on a sucker bet. We could have achieved all of our stated goals over time without the huge costs that we are bearing and will continue to bear. History was right there telling us what had happened to modern colonial adventures in the Sudan, Russian Afghanistan, and French and American Vietnam. Our current leaders either didn't listen, or knew the likely results but considered them acceptable because of some agenda we are not yet privy to and probably would not have accepted.