From: Kai Becker (kmb@kai-m-becker.de)
Date: Sat Feb 01 2003 - 12:34:48 MST
Am Samstag, 1. Februar 2003 18:18 schrieb MaxPlumm@aol.com:
> "So you believe that "our unrivaled power to crush our foes" is
> what will draw the Middle East into freedom and democracy?
> Really? Isn't it more likely to increasingly lead to the US and
> all it stands for being hated as the worst sort of tyranny? Are
> we reduced to "we will crush you if you resist"?"
>
> Amazing. What brought Germany to freedom and democracy? What kept South
> Korea from falling into a Communist sponsored nightmare in 1950? What
> kept all of Europe from falling under the boot heel of Nazism?
(1) To compare the Middle-East of today with Europe of the 30s/40s or
Asia of the 50s/60s is not very sensible. The political structures and
history, the different interests, the influence of religion, ethnical
groups, the oil business, etc. are very different.
(2) Even successful actions in the past can not flatly justify current
actions; neither morally, nor technically. Every action stands for its
own. To put it simple: Doing something good and sensible in the past
doesn't excuse doing something wrong and stupid now :-)
(3) The question, if a) a war, b) now will really solve more problems
then messing things up, is still unanswered. As far as I've understood
the Middle-East experts I've heard, they predict a rather uncontrollable
outburst of violence in the whole region, as well as a much higher risk
of terrorist actions. Or to refer to the historical events you mentioned;
this war could turn into a second vietnam.
Kai
-- == Kai M. Becker == kmb@kai-m-becker.de == Bremen, Germany == "Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced"
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