Three questions to ask your friends, neighbors and elected government employees (politicians in office):
(1) If a foreign power occupied our country wouldn’t there be an insurgency, and wouldn’t it grow until nearly everybody was part of it?
(2) What is “victory” in Iraq? We hear a lot about staying there until a victory…..what specifically does it realistically mean? As we know, terrorism is a tactic. How is victory gained over a tactic??
(3) Some say we are there because “we want stability in the Middle East.” Isn’t the Middle East a region that has had a history of even more wars than the U.S. has had in its violent history? Do you know in how many wars, takeovers, interventions, and ‘police actions’ the U.S. has engaged? Isn’t it so that the Middle East has not been very stable? And isn’t it because they believe in retribution, violence as a way to “settle” a conflict, revenge? Will our armed presence there bring stability to the region? If we “kill all the bad guys” won’t some observers regard us as “the bad guys” and thus the planet is not really rid of them? {I KNOW we think of ourselves always as “the good guys” but is it possible that this is only our perception? Of course our intentions are good. “We have come to help you,” we tell the inhabitants of the lands we invade. That is why we had that Shock-And-Awe campaign, and stood by while all that looting was going on in Iraq. What? You don’t appreciate it? You want to drive us out of your country?! Such ingrates!!}
i couldn't have said it better myself
No country has the right to impose its will on any other country with the belief that it's ways are better or more "advanced." When the Spaniards invaded the Incans they too imposed their will, thinking they were far more civilized and advanced. They found a rich culture with advanced construction prowess and one of the first to implement compulsory education for its citizens. After the Spaniards left, the Incans were devastated and never rose up to their former glory. Who in this case, were more civilized? Who were the savages?
Every major power in history has stories like this and its never a good ending and its always the same story. The powerful impose on the weak, steal from the weak, and when its bled it dry, they leave it in ruins or in a shattered, broken state-with no sense of dignity. More often than not, the weak are forced to pick themselves up in a long and painstaking process. To this day, the once-occupied countries are still in a crippled state-not knowing what to do or where to go. It's leadership was destroyed and replaced by foreign imposers and upon leaving were replaced by locals who are no different from the foreigners. What's different with America and Iraq?
Every country has its own history of atrocities and horror but every country has risen from these and have to rise ON THEIR OWN, in their own time. The people have to learn from their mistakes-free from the forceful prodding of outsiders. While America was doing terrible things to their Slave community, what would've been their reaction had another country imposed their will on America to stop the practice? America seems to be no different from any other tyrant in history.