From: Kai Becker (kmb@kai-m-becker.de)
Date: Sun Jan 26 2003 - 07:37:58 MST
Am Samstag, 25. Januar 2003 21:17 schrieb Spudboy100@aol.com:
> Well, if you are saying people lead best by example, I heartilly,
> agree. However, with the Islamic Militant mentality, your success will
> likely produce increased hatred through that magical, word...envy. They
> would envy and hate us more for our success then our good intentions.
I don't have any better idea yet, than to offer the ideas on which our
system relies, while on the other hand protect these ideas and values for
ourselves. I don't want to trade freedom for safety, but I also don't
want to live in constant angst of becoming victim of some fanatics.
> We went into Afghanistan for our own selfish
> reason-to retaliate and disrupt the attackers of 9-11, from their base.
> If the Afghani people were freed, that came as a side-effect. Had the
> Taleban turned over Osama, we likely would never had invaded.
Exactly. That's why I don't buy any "we have to bring freedom and
democracy" arguments regarding the Iraq. I'd gladly accept a worldwide
campaign for freedom and democracy, and I would praise the US if they'd
lead that campaign. After the middle-east, North Korea would be on my
list, as well as several regions in Africa. Such an initiative could
perhaps even push China - if we could achieve a worldwide embargo for
example. Unfortunately, not many regimes care for moral, when profit is
at stake. Together with my impression that there's no real present danger
yet (see my other mails), I therefore tend to look for other reasons for
Mr Bushs war monging.
> I am not so sure, Morgenthau wasn't right. Turn Deutschland into 3 or 4
> large cantons and make them pacifist. It appears to be the direction
> Schroeder wants anyway, so perhaps Morgenthau was prescien?
IIRC, Morgenthaus plan was to knock down all industrial equipment in
Germany and make it a agriculture-only country, so that no military
infrastructure could ever be developed here.
That's clearly not the way Schröder thinks :-) He's also not overly
pacifistic. In the evening of 9-11-2001, he officially announced that
Germany would provide "unreserved solidarity" to the US and AFAIK, he has
kept his word. The socialdemocratic/green coalition has been the first
government of Germany who send german soldiers into actual battles, first
in former Yugoslavia, then in Afghanistan. That wasn't easy in a land,
where grantparents and even parents narrations about war times don't
tell about heroism, but about death, hunger, displacement and the loss of
friends and belongings.
IMO, Schröder has two goals: First to follow the public will. Over 70% in
Germany (and in UK, btw) don't see any sense in attacking Iraq. Second to
relieve the pressure on the economy. Angst is not good for business. Even
the estimations of the US government say that a long war (>12 weeks) will
topple the world (and US) economy into a recession.
> If the Muslim world wants to go off the deep end because it craves to
> blame the USA for all its ills they, or anyone else are welcome to try.
Isn't this more a problem of information? We know there's plenty of money
in that region, but it's in the hand of a small elite. But what do the
people there know? Remember the very limited sources of information in
Iraq. You'll meet 23mio. people who think you are the spurce of all evil,
because you have deprived them of food, medicaments, etc., because the
official propaganda says so. How many Iraqis know about the UN, the ABC
weapons? According to a german news program last week, many Iaqis still
believe than Iran had attacked them in the eighties, because propaganda
says so.
Kai
-- == Kai M. Becker == kmb@kai-m-becker.de == Bremen, Germany == "Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced"
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