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

To: Hawkmoon who wrote (133065)	5/14/2004 4:31:24 PM
From: cnyndwllr	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

You fail to recognize the distinction between those things I can HELP change for others who want to change; those things I can change in MYSELF through force of my will; and those things I CANNOT change in OTHERS through the force of my will. Iraq is in the third category. It also appears that we have another difference of opinion. I tend to believe that the best cure for a population that's leaning toward radical extremism is a few years of radical extremist rule. That's because I believe that over time all people ruled by radicals come to the realization that radicalism leads to intolerance and a harsh and unforgiving life for those who are under it's control. If you want to look at countries like China, Iran, Vietnam and others, the people eventually migrated toward the middle, without any "help" from us. Some ideas are best destroyed by sunlight and only proliferate when you try to bury them. Another area of disagreement might be that I don't see the middle east as "some socio-religious equivalent of Jurassic Park " that leaves us with only the "hope [that] those evil creatures we've permitted to thrive don't escape and attack us." I'm not sure how "evil" they are and if we leave them to their own devices I'm pretty sure they'll be far too busy with their own problems to attack a country that isn't interfering in their lives and that has enough wmds to kill nearly every man, woman and child in them. Why is it that the militants seem to be able TO USE THEIR FORCE TO CHANGE THE WORLD but not the US or the rest of the modern world?? No one said that force wasn't an effective agent of change in the world; it is. What I am saying is that force is a blunt and poorly designed tool to try to force internal changes on a society by attempting to "create" democracy and freedom in a population that seems disinclined to fight for such ideals. In addition you must recognize that the use of force to PREVENT an action is much more effective than the use of force to COMPEL an action when that action requires the enthusiastic cooperation of the compellee. Hawk, your posts are full of compassion and idealism. There are many instances when you discuss how much good "WE" can "CREATE" in the world. Those are admirable sentiments but we also have to know when we are faced with circumstances that, while in need of correcting, are beyond our control. The internal workings of a culture and a people that did not ask for our help, that accepted our help to a point and are now rejecting it, and that are on the verge, through their actions or passivity, of choosing a path that we do not agree with, are far beyond OUR control. Let them try what they will, watch to be sure we aren't truly threatened by the STATE of Iraq, and then wait for them to finish their social experiment. If they like it, fine; if they don't, all the better. It's their lives, their country and their future. And by the way, it's their oil too.