Our Latter Day Middle East Imperialism

Anyone who knows the basics of the past colonial domination of the Middle East by Europe and the U.S. has to see the current neocon move to reconquer it in the name of America as the grossest sort of folly. First off such imperialistic gestures following upon the resentment against our attacks on democratization there in the past such as the replacement of the Mossadeq government by the Shah in Iran,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammed_Mossadeq

our support of Hussein in Iraq precisely when he was doing his worst to the Kurds and others there, our preference for the establishment of Israel with the displacement of Palestinians therefrom, and a host of interventions on the side of cruel and autocratic regimes during the Cold War, simply means that our current depredations and attempts to establish military bases throughout the region and to maintain alliances with repressive 'friends' such as the ruling autocrats in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, are just rubbing more salt into already long-festering wounds.

Some of our efforts have been justified -- supporting peaceful resolution of the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians, peace between Israel and Egypt, democratic encouragement for the still repressive regimes. But heavy handed military threats and actions are not the way to go. Real peace-making requires the most careful and thought out approaches to and by all involved, manifest respect for the decent people combined with critical responses to the extremists in each of the above mentioned nations and others living in close and all too often conflicting proximity to each other there.

We have many potential global partners who have had it with the wars, internal oppression, mutual conflicts of interests that detract from the well-being of all. We (the Bush administration) have been scorning them. We have forfeited the much needed assistance we would otherwise be receiving -- a Bolton as our UN representative??? A far too narrowly based preemptive war on Iraq??? Little wonder that we are bankrupting our nation with the massive military costs of it all!!!

Those of us aware of history and committed to human rights and the rule of law must speak out loudly and clearly and in all ways we can to condemn the hazardous paths into which the Bush administration has been leading us. It is not our corporations that should be the beneficiaries of our national policies -- yet another oil grab here or there as of days of yore -- but the interests of our nation and this precarious globe as a whole. Global warming, excess population growth and conflicts -- and the spill over into global epidemics and wars deriving therefrom is what our attention must be on. It is not and we are, thus, placed at far greater long term risk even than what could be inflicted by the worst of possibilities, say a nuclear weapon set off in a shipping crate at the center of one of our major cities.

We owe better to the future generations who must follow up on whatever obstacles that we have set up in their path. Let us keep our eyes on _their_ future and acknowledge the evils that we have committed in the past and risk repeating now! There are far better ways to go! I speak here personally as a father and grandfather who cares deeply.
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"A war is just if there is no alternative, and the resort
to arms is legitimate if they represent your last hope." (Livy)
--
Ed Kent 718-951-5324 (voice mail only) [blind copies]
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