In college, I had this one professor for four classes. His name was Michael Herb and his specialization was Middle Eastern affairs. I think I had him for Global Issues, Politics of the Middle East and Northern Africa, Politics of Developing Countries, and politics of something else.. He would always start out each semester with a review of Samuel Huntington's book, The Clash of Civilizations where the author makes quite a compelling argument that civilizations have replaced our notions of nations and states and ideologies. And the work to understand this new climate, will be understanding the cultures.
After taking Dr. Herb for the third time, I was able to ace the first series of quizzes with my eyes closed, seeing as they all related to this book. But with all that has been going on lately in the Middle East, I have been reminded of Samuel Huntington and his theories.
Everything seems to be breaking down in Iraq. Now, I voted for Bush in the last presidential election because we were already in Iraq. I don't think going in was necesarily the right thing for us to do, but since we were already in up to our waistlines, I saw no form of recourse that didn't lead to civil war. Yet now, while we are there, it seems as though civil war is beginning.
Not "techinically" as the US generals remind us there is still a government in place, but the violence is overwhelming. And it has led me to some open ended questions lately:
When we pull out, understanding that this rebuilding effort is a long-term, not short-term plan, is it even possible for us as Americans.. as the US for that matter, to establish peace in a Middle Eastern nation?
I had the opportunity to see the movie Syriana this winter which followed several individual storylines, one being a young man in the Middle East. After losing his job b/c the CEO of a major US oil company decided to downsize, he was desperate. No money, away from home, no resources. He found out about "religious school" from a friend, and eventually decided to attend. They offered pay, education, knowledge, food, and purpose. Ladies and gentlemen, this was a terrorist camp. Is the US presence offering anything of purpose to the people of Iraq?
Maybe it's not the US's job to police the world. I mean, there are hundreds of other small countries that need aid in establishing government, are we going to help them too? Probably not. However, since our plan was to take out Sadaam, is it our responsibility to stay, occupy, and get things in order?
I come back to a quote from Samuel Huntington's The Clash of Civilizations:
The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact, non-Westerners never do.
posted by Kelly @ 10:03:00 AM
1 Comments:
Yeah, I voted for President Bush the 2nd time, too, for much the same reasons.
I wouldn't rely solely on the major news sources (CNN, CBS, FOX, ABC, etc.) for the right perspective on what's happening in Iraq. There are several alternative news sources that offer the other side - the good stories about relationships that are being built with the Iraqi people. Abu Ghraib has been a stain on our "moral high ground" and the cartoons of Mohammed, though not drawn by Americans, have made it harder to establish these relationships. But there is definitely progress being made. We are in this thing for the long haul.
The US is sort of damned if they do, damned if they don't. We tried to stay out of several wars in the past as long as we could and were condemned because we waited to long. People blamed us for the high death toll before we intervened in World War I. Likewise, our "preemptive strike" was considered illegal by many, even though we were acting in full accord with several resolutions passed by the United Nations.
Don't get me wrong, I am appalled when I think of our historic suppression of other races - specifically native Americans and blacks.
But when I think of our foreign policies in the past - not all of which are shining examples - and when I think of our ideals and freedoms and all of the immigrants that have flocked to the US or fled from oppressive governments... I can't help think that, in at least some ways, we actualy have won the world in the past by the superiority of our ideals. That's not because the ideas and values are inherently American - they're not - it's because the ideals and values (life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness) are, in my opinion, inherently good.
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