Exporting Democracy
Posted : January 2, 2007 at 11:50 pm [America/Los_Angeles]
Now President Bush wants a “surge” of more U.S. troops to Baghdad, in one last attempt to bring order. Whenever I hear this surge idea, I think of a couple who recently got married but the marriage was never very solid. Then one day they say to each other, “Hey, let’s have a baby, that will bring us together.” It never works. If the underlying union is not there, adding a baby won’t help. And if the underlying willingness to share power and resources is not present among the major communities in Iraq, adding more U.S. troops won’t help either. Adding more troops makes sense only if it’s to buy more time for positive trends that have already begun to appear on the horizon. I don’t see them. As Saddam’s hanging underscored, Iraqis are doing things their way. So maybe it’s time to get out of their way.
— Thomas Friedman, “A Hanging and a Funeral”
Frankly, I’d rather see US Administration get back to putting “all” its energy and resources behind what I think it does best - Lead Mankind into the 21st century with even greater advances in Science and Technology, solving real threats to humanity like Global Warming. This whole idea of pursuing “preemptive strike, with or without our allies in the name of National Security” while appealing to many here in United States, does nothing for me. I am a Gandhian who firmly believes that violence begets more violence and should only be used as an absolute last recourse.
- Anand
Category: US