None of these reasons provide sufficient justification for maintaining our military in areas where it is not welcome. We are an occupying force in Iraq and that is about as Un-American as you can get. We, as a nation, were born from rebellion. We refused to live as an occupied territory of England. We demanded our independence, among the first of the colonies to do so but far from the last. We threw off our oppressors, only to become them in later years.
If we need a presence in the Middle East to protect the interests of America and her allies, then we should negotiate with the people of those countries for leases of land and infrastructure to allow us such a presence. If what we are actually seeking is a beachhead from which to dominate the region, well, there is no excuse for that and we should stop at once.
If we need access to dwindling oil supplies, we should negotiate such access with the people who own the resources.
If we need to be independent of the oil cartels, no matter who runs them, we can do that best by developing alternative energy sources, not by milking the planet dry of the last drop of oil and only then opening up the vaults where all the alternative energy plans have been tucked away over the years to prevent anyone from competing effectively with the oil barons. By enthusiastically and energetically embracing environmentally sound alternative energy policies, we will put ourselves in the position of being able to smile politely at the oil barons of the world and say ‘no thank you’ to their demands.
The rest of the people of this world do not need America to tell them the best way to live. We can all learn from each other and encourage cultural and national diversity the way a good environmentalist encourages and nurtures biological diversity. There is no need for all of us to be ducks or bears. The full variety is needed.
America is only one of the countries of the world and does not stand in the number one spot. We are not the greatest nation on earth. We are one of the nations of humanity. If we have anything to be proud of, it should be our wild rebellious spirit, the spirit that brought this country into existence. We cannot be the wild rebellious colonials and the dreary grey oppressive empire builders at the same time.
The best way to protect America and her allies from the rest of the world is to treat the rest of the world with respect. To negotiate. To rely on diplomacy rather than force of arms. To buy what we want honestly and openly in the world market rather than take it under the guise of bringing freedom to the third world. To change our culture to one that embraces sustainable, healthy policies that nurture the environment on which we all depend for our survival. These are some of the ways to protect America from terrorism and military opportunism. If we want peace, we must work for justice.
If the world wants to move toward democracy and capitalism, it will do so on its own and does not need the USA to guide it there. Encourage , yes. Force, no. Like the USSR, it will come to its destiny on its own feet without American domination.
As for being able to mount effective military actions in the region to deal with things like the hostage crisis, we can do that best through a combination of technological development [better choppers, better fuel systems, better reconnaissance vehicles and so forth], diplomacy and statecraft, and honest trade. Allies can be nurtured. Strong allies will lease us bases if we need them. If they won’t then we will just have to find another way – a way that does not include becoming occupying forces.
Those who oppose the war in Iraq should not be simply proposing a lite version of the same thing. Bring the troops home. Treat them fairly and deploy them with full support in places where we are welcome and where our allies stand staunchly at our sides. Reverse the policy of pre-emptive attacks. Remove torture from our playbook. Recapture the wild rebellious spirit once more and bring the rights we have worked so hard to gain to all the people of this country.
Don’t settle for republican lite. Take the left hand path to a truly democratic country. Let’s not become what we despise.
Norla Antinoro is a life long Democrat. Born in California she spent most of the last 45 years in and around Tucson, Arizona; Guelph, Ontario; Buffalo, New York and currently resides in Oregon. She is an editor and writer for We! Magazine - a Progressive Voice, a progressive op-ed online magazine.
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