Somewhat vaguely pro-war musings
Mar. 22nd, 2003 10:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xiphiasSometimes, when a situation over which I have no control really scares me, I try to figure out how things might work out for the best. Even if I think something is a terrible idea, I can sometimes try to look at the other side. If I make a good enough argument, sometimes I feel a little better about it.
So. . .
Let's start by accepting that the end result of this will be an improvement for the Iraqi people. I think pretty much everybody agrees on that -- there may have been a better way to "affect regime change", in our Beloved Gummint's words, but I think it's pretty clear that, as far as the Iraqi people are concerned, "affecting regime change" was neccessary. (I'm less convinced that it was neccessary for me personally, but, that's not the argument I'm making now.) But the expatriate Iraqi community, although the visuals of the bombing of Bahgdad are traumatic, are nonetheless behind this war 100%. (Of course, it's not neccessarily a good idea for a country to take its foreign policy from expatriates from that country; isn't that one reason we can't come to an accomidation with Cuba?
So, let's assume that a post-war Iraq will actually be more pro-Western. Perhaps that fact will lower the "fanaticism quotient" I talked about previously. Maybe having a large, relatively pro-Western Muslim country will be, in the long run, benificial for the United States.
I hope so, anyway.
So. . .
Let's start by accepting that the end result of this will be an improvement for the Iraqi people. I think pretty much everybody agrees on that -- there may have been a better way to "affect regime change", in our Beloved Gummint's words, but I think it's pretty clear that, as far as the Iraqi people are concerned, "affecting regime change" was neccessary. (I'm less convinced that it was neccessary for me personally, but, that's not the argument I'm making now.) But the expatriate Iraqi community, although the visuals of the bombing of Bahgdad are traumatic, are nonetheless behind this war 100%. (Of course, it's not neccessarily a good idea for a country to take its foreign policy from expatriates from that country; isn't that one reason we can't come to an accomidation with Cuba?
So, let's assume that a post-war Iraq will actually be more pro-Western. Perhaps that fact will lower the "fanaticism quotient" I talked about previously. Maybe having a large, relatively pro-Western Muslim country will be, in the long run, benificial for the United States.
I hope so, anyway.