Overthrow a Suspect Government. Any will do.

Of all the arguments for the war, the following is one of the simplest and oldest. Though Spengler may be correct in "a" reason for war, I think he overlooks the long range and unknown consequences of invading another country. Spengler, like millions of others, is willing to kill just because he 'believes', instead of waiting for forensic proof.

Spengler writes that there has not been a terrorist attack on the U. S. since 2001 which justifies our invasion of Iraq. He fails to mentions thousands of terrorists attacks in Iraq that have killed thousands of American citizens and innocent Iraqi women and children. Nor does he mention the terrorist attacks on our allies in the Great Britain, Spain and the Australian citizens in Bali. Nor does Spengler mention all the terrorist attacks on the oil infrastructure in Iraq which has affected our economy and lowered the value of the dollar.

We should ask the question, why does our government meddle so much in the affairs of other countries, which creates enemies for us? Try taking sides in your neighbor's family disputes and see how many enemies you create. Why does our government takes sides in foreign disputes between other countries? Instead of offering to be just a mediator we decide to be an enforcer. The answer to why our government is a meddler in other countries' affairs is because it cannot help meddling into the affairs of others. It cannot help meddling into the affairs of its own citizens! Millions of people are afflicted with this condition, the need to tell others how to live.

Is democracy the antidote to terrorism? I suspect it is. Not because it is a virtuous and principled system but because people in a democracy will vote their self interest over principal.

Bilbo Baggins

"Every state begins in compulsion; but the habits of obedience become the content of conscience, and soon every citizen thrills with loyalty to the flag." Will Durant, The Story of Civilization, Vol. 1, 1935

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/GD27Aa01.html
Dear Spengler,

As the head of the world's only hyperpower, I am committed to democracy in the Muslim world. I have said many times that democracy is the antidote to terrorism. Yesterday the Islamist candidates swept the municipal elections in Saudi Arabia, and I am worried that Hamas will win the July 17 national elections in Palestine and that Hezbollah will dominate Lebanon. Should I forget about democracy?

Perplexed on the Potomac

Dear Perplexed,

Let them elect anyone they want, but make clear that you will deal harshly with hostile governments. Perhaps you worry too much about whether people like you. You should focus on your successes, for example, the fact that terrorists have not staged a major attack on your country since September 11, 2001. I am not privy to such matters, but I do not believe this is true because your country's intelligence services have successfully infiltrated the terrorist organizations. Thomas Friedman of the New York Times argued in dead seriousness that the terrorists did not attack your country because all of them went to fight in Iraq. That would be the silliest thing Friedman ever wrote, that is, if Friedman had not written so many other silly things. You forestalled further terrorist attacks on the US simply by invading Iraq and overthrowing its government. Terrorists cannot work effectively without supporters inside governments to provide them with weapons, passports, intelligence, safe haven, and so forth. Middle Eastern governments are not quite governments in the Western sense. They resemble hotels that rent rooms to paying customers of varying persuasions. One has to hold the hotel manager accountable for what goes in inside the rooms. An entire government might not support terrorism, but terrorist sympathizers are ensconced within the military and intelligence services of most Middle Eastern states. One never knows just who these sympathizers might be; your spies do not know and are not likely to find out. Whether Saddam Hussein personally supported al-Qaeda is irrelevant. He indulged enough nasty creatures in his intelligence menagerie such that al-Qaeda obtained resources from Iraq where necessary. The same is true of other governments.

The old maxim applies, "Beat your children every day. If you do not know what they did wrong, they do." Your critics complain that you acted in the absence of precise intelligence. Just the opposite is true. In the absence of precise intelligence, the optimal course of action is to overthrow a suspect government. Any government will do. Syria or Iran might have done as well as Iraq. As long as the governments of the Muslim world believe that you will tear them limb from limb if they support terrorism, they will behave.

Spengler