Stan Comments on Lulu's Post

Much of our country’s current foreign policy is derived from an extreme ideology that has evolved among conservatives since the fall of the Soviet Union. The thinking goes like this: since there is no superpower left to stop us, the time is right to reform the un-democratized nations of the world, especially those that control oil. (During Clinton’s second term, conservatives said that it’s not about sex; now, they claim it’s not about oil. Yeah, right.)

I personally do not believe the veracity of the administration’s stated justification for the war. I do think our intelligence was flawed, but I don’t believe the WMD argument was ever the real issue. If so, we would have invaded Iran, not Iraq. After all, it is Iran that is governed by an Islamic theocracy; it is Iran that is known to harbor Islamic radicals; and it is Iran that has made nuclear advances. Why did we invade Iraq then? Well, because we could; and because Hussein had been a pain in the ass for a decade; and because he went after Daddy.

Now, having said all of this, I do believe there is a 50-50 chance the world will be a better place in ten years because of our actions today. Like you, I don’t hate Muslims, but I do believe Islam needs updating and that its clerics need to stop preaching hatred. This can only happen when its adherents have hope and a degree of control over their lives. Democracy works, but it can’t be force feed, at least not in the short term, and certainly not to a people who associate more closely with a tribe than a nation. No one in the administration wants to admit it, but Iraq is in the throes of a civil war and the outcome is far from certain.

Sadly, much of our country is fearful right now. Long before Bush and Iraq, family values struck an accord because of fear and chaos in the lives of many. People began comforting themselves by connecting with large, impersonal and very conservative religious congregations. These congregations place religious issues above all else, including the Constitution and common sense. If only a small percentage of the single issue abortion voters could have expanded their horizons, Gore would be president today and we would not be in Iraq. That’s how much religion shapes world events.

During the Crusades, Christians battled Muslims and the religious war continues today, hundreds of years later. Christians and Muslims have a very different vision of the world, each wanting a society, and every society, to be based on their particular religious values and beliefs. Islamic extremists are so fanatic that they are willing to fly planes into buildings, killing thousands of innocent people. Christian extremists are so fearful that they are willing to drop bombs, killing thousands of innocent people. All religious extremists justify their actions based on the belief that God is on their side.

I think the Iraqi quagmire can be attributed to a combination of oil, fear, religion and incompetent leadership. However, there are so many folks around us, especially here in the Southeast, who are disinterested in explanations or causations. They blindly and automatically assume any dissent is unpatriotic. They seem to forget that the young men and women who fight and die in Iraq and elsewhere are protecting our rights, including our right to express unpopular views.

Thanks for speaking out, Lulu.