From: Ramez Naam (mez@apexnano.com)
Date: Thu Feb 20 2003 - 08:58:42 MST
From: MaxPlumm@aol.com [mailto:MaxPlumm@aol.com]
Max, first let me say that I appreciate your deep knowledge of cold
war history and your thoughtful posts.
> This gets to the heart of my problem with your argument. To
> suggest that the United States has had a foreign policy which
> has been "the opposite" of one that spreads democracy and
> capitalism is in my view at best unfair, if not dishonest.
You're right. Perhaps I should have said that US foreign policy,
historically, has been fairly indifferent to democracy.
> Let me say now that I believe you and I are looking toward
> the same thing, a free and democratic Iraq.
>
> I am of the opinion that US action in Iraq will have the same
> benefits for the Iraqi people, all the while satisfying our
> internal interests. I am also of the opinion, and only time
> will tell the validity of it, that in the post-Soviet world,
> the US will be able to be more patient and allow more
> democratic personalities to come to the fore.
I hope you are right. To be completely clear, I agree with you that
the US *can* help build a democracy in Iraq. And I think that can be
done even when our primary motive for invading is selfish. Indeed,
building a democracy in Iraq serves our selfish interests in the long
turn. The farther democracy spreads through the world, the safer and
more extropic the world becomes.
However, building a democracy in Iraq will take a long, steady
commitment. My complaint is that the administration has not displayed
a level of follow-through in their dealing with Afghanistan that
convinces me that they're up to the challenge of building democracy in
Iraq. Even more importantly, Bush has not prepared the US public and
congress for the idea of a decade-long (or longer) engagement in Iraq.
That makes me deeply suspicious that we're going to install a
government and then leave the country to its own fate.
> I for one do agree with your assertion that it will require a
> prolonged US effort to see that a vibrant and free Iraq comes
> to pass. It is my opinion and my hope that they will be
> engaged in making the process work. However, the first steps
> on that road do not need to be paved with altruism.
Yes, as I've tried to make clear, spreading democracy and prosperity
through the world is beneficial from a purely selfish standpoint.
While I may be an altruist, I don't presume that the people I'm trying
to convince have any altruistic leanings.
cheers,
mez
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