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Between Iraq & A Hard Place
by Jack Wellman
2008-05-23 08:36:47 |
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I can understand why many Americans are getting tired and discouraged from the long Iraqi war. On the website controversialforums.com, which addresses many of the most controversial issues in society, one man wrote the comments: “You look down the street and see military soldiers from a foreign country going through the houses on your street and separating the families. So before they make it to your house you run to your gun cabinet and prepare to fight to keep them out of your house." He went on to say, “You are now considered an American Insurgent. So how different are we from Iraqi Insurgents?" It was a thought provoking thought.
The U. S. has long been in the business of "exporting Democracy", which I think sometimes comes dangerously close to undermining national sovereignty. This is a slippery slope indeed. National sovereignty is a weighty matter when considering foreign diplomacy and it should not be infringed upon lightly (with due exceptions, i.e. Hitler's Third Reich). There must be no shadow of doubt and use of force in another nation must never be used unless absolutely necessary for the survival of that nation's people. Even then, restore rule and leave as quickly as possible.
Trying to assimilate one culture into another culture is a daunting task. What are they to do with the unknown power that Democracy yields (usually for the few) and corruptibility likelihood with any form of Democracy? It appears that we’ve sometimes sort of rammed Democracy down their throats and since they have no history of working with this type of government for thousands of years, there is no crash course that can fully inculcate it into their culture and national psyche. Wouldn't it have been better to let the majority of Iraqi's people vote on what type of government they would want? Let the people choose, which is, in itself, a form of Democracy. Provide military aid and support yes, but only if asked for.
Given that, the comment of: "You are now considered an American Insurgent. So how different are we from Iraqi Insurgents?" is a failed argument in Afghanistan. If I were an Afghan citizen, I would want another nation to uproot Al Qaeda or any other terrorist group from controlling my country and it's government. Yes, I would be an insurgent, but would grab my gun only to offer my support against the insurgents. I would gladly join the resistance, as most any other national citizen would.
When this world-wide terrorist organization and network took power in Afghanistan, they simply had to be removed from power since this nation has a dangerous arsenal, army and accessibility to perhaps even nuclear weapons. It is considerably easier for a nation to acquire weapons of mass destruction than for a terrorist network to do so.
Imagine an entire nation consisting of terrorists taking power and you can understand why this had to be prevented from happening. And the U.S. prevented it (British, Australia, etc. to a lesser degree). Even the great majority of Afghan people have said they welcomed U. S. military support. They understood it was in everyone's best interest that the needs of the many (a nation or several nations threatened with destruction) outweigh the needs of the few (Al Qaeda or a nation‘s sovereignty). Military force used in another nation can be justified, but it must be the exception rather than the rule.
democracy War USA Iraq |
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