Wyn Davis wrote on Thu, 18 November 2004 19:18 |
Thank you for sharing your perspective on this nightmare. I am pretty sure we understand one another.
|
Just a liberal wimp who cant take a the smell of burning flesh in the morning, every morning, forever! Endless war is not my idea of an economic stimulus package.
Seriously, the crux of this biscuit is not to put us anti-Iraq II people in an anti-war or a pacifist prejudice. Liberal is not pacifist, liberal is not wimply. There is a time to fight and a time not to. The thing that I see is this ... war is hell, and hell begets hell. So we need to have a clear positive advantage by going into war. This has never been so. And this war was never going to go well on the way out ... that's why we did it, for the military advantage we think we're getting by staying there forever. But are we?
Actually the US is playing into the hands of BinLaden with Iraq II, making him the genius prophet. I so WISH that this war would bring us something in return, yet I see that the negatives have been out weighing and out growing the positives for a long time.
Dear Hawks:
Bin Laden and frankly all terrorists are like teenage boys that want to blow up the neighbor lady's mailbox, and spray paint cars, and tee pee the school for fun and macho identity in an immature group.
They're lashing out against a world they are not yet part of yet at the same time they're affected and intimidated by. They live in the illusion of the 'victim' and don't see the realities of their actions on others, nor do they want to step up to the table of working WITH a troubled planet. They have polarized themselves against the old lady down the street, or the US in this case. They say we are evil. And what do we do? ... the very same thing. Bad parenting.
Teenage boys with rocket launchers we gave them for presents when we wanted them to shoot the neighbors while we were at the office making money ... and with jetliners full of Americans and fuel need to be taken very seriously and addressed militarily, yet with more than a war here or there. Yes we have the military to win a war, but it does not win a peace, it just expands the war over land and time, and costs us money we dont have - further weakening our weak and heavily leveraged economy. The next strike on American soil might just crash the market ... how noble would we be feeling then? When we cant buy our way out of everything?
Aggressive action in the name of peace is a hypocrisy that we are so blind to as a nation it's almost too much to explain to those who don't want to see it yet. The denial that we are in as a country right now is amazing and sad and frightening.
It's not liberal weakness to hold your bets and not go all out with every poker hand you're played. It's intelligence. Stop praying and start thinking.
Here's a few ideas to ponder:
* Led by Wal Mart and Sears/KMart and Target the American economy will continue to lose out to China, as we continue to build deficits finding, fighting and inspiring Terrorists and wars with Nation States we have called Evil. China gives it's companies free money and has no regulations on anything .. it's America 120 years ago x 50 with cell phones and hi tech ways to steal our heritage of manufacturing skill.
* World trade, unregulated, is the greatest threat to the American economy since the Great Depression. That and the oil reserves that the world's new economies are sucking up fast ... say 50 years left, maybe 70 with new technology.
* Concurrently, Islamofascists are the greatest military threat to America in our history and need to be treated with the respect of a real enemy.
* Indirect war on them, as in Iraq, will only make them stronger. They can outlast us, and will if we keep on like this. They are poor already, their religion's highest ideal lies in their death for a cause, and they are motivated by gaining ground in small steps. They are also as patient as the Japanese once were both in war and in business.
* Direct war will limit their numbers temporarily, and should be pursued in decisive fashion where decisiveness is likely and collateral damage is nil. Financial means and diplomatic means need to be stepped up however ... terror funding is still tied to our 'friends' the Saudis.
* Innocent civilian casualties anywhere in the Middle East due to US aggression are anathema to our role as a leader for a civilized world of freedom and constitutional law. The price of each collateral death is immeasurable (although we hand out money to try and make ourselves feel better)
* Middle Easterners on the street, of any religios affiliaton, can be emotional and sentimental to the extreme ... they do not see the 'greater good' of our policies as much as they feel the rage against our ways. Remember, they have dealt with our wake for 50+ years.
* US Foreign Policy used to use various factions in the Middle East to do our military bidding, now we are attacking various factions with our military to do our diplomatic and intelligence community bidding. The US is a lazy leader, and needs better methods and a broader understanding of it's impact on the region and it's citizens, including the enemy.
*Building a real and global coalition that will be able to CONTAIN and LIMIT the influence of terrorism and aggressive regimes is not going to happen at this rate, and with our examples.
To INFLAME is not to CONTAIN terrorists.
To say "no nukes" to Iran and India and N Korea and to build bunker buster nukes ourselves in not a leadership position with weight or integrity or any chance of sucess.
To live in polarity as they do ... the polarizaton of "us against them" ... will solve nothing and will create more separation and pain across the globe, as it fuels their cause and methodology.
How does a country, defend itself vigorously without pushing the conflict further along? .. this is the question we need to answer.
How does a person defend themselves without furthering the hate?
If Americans with many shared values can't get past Republican vs. Democrat, how can we forsee anything but endless war with Islamofascists?