Home
About
Apple
Career
Experiences
General
Graphics
Hardware
History
Humor
Interface
Networking
OS
Opinion
Politics
Programming
Quotes
Reviews
Security
Software
Sound
Thought
Web
Cheap International
Airfare Online
Wachovia online banking
Get Free Coupons Online
Finding the perfect
discount hot tub
Payday Loans
Stock Trading Online
Stuffed Animals
Smart Investing Online
|
|
Bigger plans
Foreign policy and war
By: David K. Every
|
Kind:
Created:
Size: |
Article
2003-03-20
11 KB |
|
|
 |
 think most are missing the bigger plan in this war.
We're also doing this to demonstrate to the world what we can do. This is NOT just about Iraq. This is about demonstrating to the world what the costs are of treading on us. This is a huge message to the world, as every war is. We are shouting from the rooftops:
1) We will get dirty when we have to, and you don't want it directed at you.
2) We will attack first, in defense, if you make yourself a big enough threat. So be careful.
3) We have the power, ability, training, and willpower, to take on and defeat enemies. You do NOT want to be our enemy.
4) We can dismantle everything a corrupt regime has built in decades, in a few short weeks. Don't push it.
5) War should be used very rarely and sparingly. But it can achieve an ends, and sometimes is the only way to achieve that ends.
So this is a big lesson in international manners; mind your P's & Q's, or else.
           
It is number 5 that scares the hell out of the sheep of the world. They've bought into the "meek shall inherit the earth", but even they know, deep down, that this is dangerous, and morally wrong. If they don't, then I pity them more.
The weak, um, I mean meek, shall inherit the earth, unless the strong are in a bad mood and want to take it from them. Thank goodness, that we are strong, and don't want to be imperialistic like the liars, um, our detractors say. And thank goodness we sometimes protect the meek, or the French would be speaking German.
I like and respect the peaceful. The Martin Luther King, Jr.'s and the Ghandi's. But they only succeeded because went against enemies that had morals; and still things didn't turn out that great for them. I think that as a nation, we have a responsibility to not let ourselves get wiped out for the sake of setting an example for others.
The meek are terrified that we can demonstrate that the strong and bold can sometimes be righteous as well, or even make the world a better place. So they are all screaming and attacking the U.S., and trying to sensationalize things, and they are fighting the war to prolong it, make it more expensive and costly, and if they can break the will of the American people, and make us give up and go away, then they naively think the world will be a better place, once left to the peaceful intentions of peaceniks, despots and terrorists.
The truth is, that these misguided people would support terrorism and attack the very nation that protects their freedom, rather than challenge their own world view (and accept that sometimes you have to go through war to get to peace). That's their problem. In my world, the stupid don't get a vote. Oh, they can voice it, but I'll do everything in my power to counter it.
     
Of course the fanatics are screaming bloody murder, we're scaring the holy crap out of them. Of course they think we are arrogant; we are demonstrating more wisdom, intelligence and compassion than they are. Kids always think their parents are arrogant and that they know more than them; but that doesn't make them right, or their parents wrong.
Again, there are many ignoramus's claiming that we weren't for peace, or we didn't give disarmament a chance. I don't see how they can say this with a straight face; but they probably do it by either ignoring or being unaware of the diplomatic and political efforts of the last 12-22 years. So they can claim what they want, but to me, it is only a dramatic demonstration of complete cluelessness. Maybe if these Dove's grew a spine, and stopped hiding behind their cowardess, they could help end this conflict quicker, and make the world a better, more peaceful place. Or they can just heckle and belittle from the sidelines, and pretend that's doing the world some good by supporting despots, torture and human rights violations.
I believe in walking away from most fights, and leaving people alone, and not picking fights, or even taking all that are offered to me. But lord have mercy on the ones who won't let me live in peace, and instead make me fight. I even thought we should have waited a little longer in this war, and been more patient, and tried to get more diplomatic support in this war. But facts are facts. We did enough, and the President makes the decisions. We could never build consensus because the French (and others) were being irrational; there was no amount of evidence or reasons that would have changed their mind. Those that are ignoring what we did, don't seem to get the bigger picture, or the smaller one for that matter.
If two decades of Saddam wasn't enough, than what would be? How would another 4 weeks or 4 years have made a difference? The French didn't care about the Iraqi's, they cared about their revenue stream from the tyrannical government of Saddam Hussein, or their own egos and world views. There was no evidence that time was achieving anything positive, so we finally decided enough is enough. We can't afford to put any army over there, and then sit on it indefinitely; so we put limits on our ultimatums. He had 6 months on ours, and he still didn't rent a clue large enough to catch on what the "or else" meant. Compassion has limits, and the dumb may not like it, but the end result is that the stupid don't get a vote in our national interests. They may not like it, but I don't care. If you don't like it, you can read my article on Who is right.
So the fanatics can scream, but we don't have to pay attention. They can claim they don't like what we are doing. But what they are screaming demonstrates that they don't even understand what we are doing, or what has already been done.
 
Action, and inaction, means things and sends a message. All the silent countries of the world that aren't condemning the atrocities of the Iraqi's, or coming to the aid in freeing them, are screaming a message at the top of their lungs too. But I don't think it is a message they should be proud of.
Now we're sending an important message that while we're patient and tolerant, there are limits, and you really don't want to be on the receiving end of going past ours.
This is not some President scared to use the Military for what it is good at, and instead wants to use cruise missiles from the safety of the oval office. This is not some hawk picking a fight we didn't need to be in; two decades of diplomatic failures to resolve this problem prove that. This is a real foreign policy strategy. This lets the word know, that if we think you are a terrorist regime, and you demonstrate it, and that you are a threat to us, then we will come out and play. And you might not be able to play with the big dogs. Woof.
Those that were saying Americans was afraid of losing ground troops, just got a huge lesson. Our ground troops are willing to get wet, and kick ass, and take their losses. Don't tread on me. We're going to lose many, and keep on coming.
Those that said we're afraid of chemical weapons, or think that soviet made GPS jammers or weapons will make them safe, are getting a clear demonstration that they are not safe.
The best they can achieve is to piss us off more. Torture prisoners, and we will win anyways. Kill your POW's, and we will still win. Use terrorism and everything immoral, all in the name of Allah, and we will still win. Use human shields, bomb your own people, try to win a PR war with misinformation that only the stupid buy into, and we will still win. You can use every dirty trick in the book, and throw your little childish, immoral tantrums, and still we will win. We won't lose or cool, or stop being professionals; but we will win. This war was over from the moment we decided that we had no choice but to fight; the best they can do is drag it out longer, or do more harm by fighting.
The message is clear; "think hard, do you really want to be our enemy?"
The Military is the muscle behind our foreign policy. As sad as it is, and as much as the sheep or ostriches (that like to be called doves) think that peace is achieved by planting daisies on your Volkswagen and trying to be nice all the time, the truth is that occasionally you can get more with a little war, than with a lot of peace. The impact on the world and world diplomacy will be even greater.
War is able to do more in 10 weeks for the Iraqi people, than what the dove's could get them through negotiation and talking nice for 20 years. Sometimes war is likely to save 100 times more lives than 10,000 sit-ins, protests, and UN treaties. 27 million people in Iraq, and we as a country are going to spend about $4,000 a piece to liberate and save each of them. I'm glad that countries are going to send them aide; but we're going to set them something more important, and set them free and give them a chance to make more than they would ever have without us. Instead of just trying to bleed their country dry, support their despotic government, and dance on their corpses like the greedy and "compassionate, peace-loving" French, Germans, Russians or Chinese that the peaceniks love so much.
Some will claim that the ignorant rhetoric by those that hate us, will be louder. So what? That hatred or resentment doesn't mean that we are wrong; just that they hate us. That doesn't mean we aren't just, or that our actions aren't less tolerable than the alternative. They've proven that they still hate us for inaction, as much as action. So they hate, because they hate or fear us. They hate us because we're big, powerful, rich and arrogant. We can't change that by putting our heads in our butts, and acting like the French. And if I'm going to be hated, it is better to be hated for trying to do much (and sometimes succeeding), rather than doing too little.
The ignorant rhetoric against us will probably continue, but behind it will be a little more fear and respect. The enemies of the U.S. may pick their battles and enemies more wisely. That is good for the U.S., and the U.S.'s interests. And since the U.S. is against terrorists, this is probably good for the world.
Again, I'm not saying we're not always right, or that we don't do hypocritical things. That's not what this war is about, so shut up already. This war is about this war, and what is achieved and learned from it. Try to focus on now the future and what is; not what was or what you wish things were like.
The choice right now is that you can support the war, and send a message against tyranny, brutality and terror; or you can oppose it and send a message that you support the terrorism of the Iraqi people, and despotism of tyrants, and the systemic starvation of people for political ends, for weapons of mass destruction, and for greed over honor and duty. Because the choice in war becomes clear. Either you will pay the price to get to peace, or you will tell everyone that you will put up with any injustice, if the alternative is war.
So they can say whatever they want, we will act. You can be for us, or for them; but sometimes you have to choose sides. These lessons could do more for world peace in the next year, than another 1,000 years of being tolerant towards tyrants, despots and terrorists could. Like children the world needs to learn that there are limits, and there are costs for going past them. The peaceniks would save more lives not by being a silly little roadblock in the evolution of mankind, but by helping to teach the lesson that there are consequences for bad actions. This war will teach people that they can learn that the easy way, or they might have to learn it the hard way.
 Format for Printing  Mail
|
|
|
|
