MARC CHOQUETTTE
Contributing Writer
I’m catching up on the day’s events here at the News Desk of the award-winning Graphic, and recently an article came up from the Feb. 3rd Washington Post noting that the estimated total for all these wars is reaching $440 billion.
Welcome to the 21st century folks, where fear reigns supreme and nobody has any problem with money being robbed from the treasury to be shipped overseas and for reconstruction contracts.
Our once balanced budget has a deficit in the trillions and now programs such as financial aid for students have been substantially reduced.
Rewind to Sept. 12, 2001. As President Bush constantly reminds us, we had just been blindsided by the worst attack on American soil. In his book, “Kingdom of Fear,” famed renegade journalist Hunter S. Thompson reflected on the future of America post-9/11:
“The towers are gone now, reduced to bloody rubble, along with all hopes for Peace in Our Time, in the United States or any other country. Make no mistake about it: We are At War now — with somebody — and we will stay At War with that mysterious Enemy for the rest of our lives …We are going to punish somebody for this attack, but just who or what will be blown to smithereens is hard to say. Maybe Afghanistan … maybe Iraq, maybe [both] at once.”
Fast forward five years, two wars and more than 2,500 dead soldiers (R.I.P.) to 2006 and the happenings so far closely resemble those of Thompson’s bleak outlook.
We’re amid escalating violence, death and kidnapping. Controversial political cartoons have resulted in embassy burning to the ground, democratic elections that put former terrorists in power (oh, the irony), constant threats of new attacks, renewed nuclear tensions and more military action in the Middle East possibly in the works. Yet according to the White House, we are winning.
For once, ignore what the White House is saying. Please. Take a step back, a deep breath and “Think for Yourself,” as the Beatles said in their fantastic song from the Rubber Soul album. Keeping with the British theme, Winston Churchill said, “The first casualty in war is truth.”
We must examine these events on our own terms and decide for ourselves what we think is true, what we think is pure spin and what we think are outright lies.
While believing in our leaders is a good thing to do, criticizing them and watching their every move is much more democratic and patriotic than simply going along with them on all issues.
It’s the principle of holding people accountable. After all, those with power tend to abuse it.
If you sincerely think we can democratize the Middle East, who hasn’t trusted a Western nation since WWI (see the Husayn/McMahon Correspondence or the Sykes-Picot Agreement), you’re either an extreme idealist or very naive.
We must look at these policies of our government and ask ourselves, is this really the direction we want to be moving?
While I am admittedly no expert, I feel the solution is easier than most think. European countries have very recently been roped into this Middle East versus West conflict that has recently been spiraling out of control. We must work with these countries in dealing with the Middle East.
History tells us over and over that going it alone, or with a joke of a “coalition” like we did in Iraq and Afghanistan, is disastrous. Look at what has happened to our military and our respect abroad.
While the White House says we can handle two separate conflicts, the military generals who are actually on the front lines say the military is being stretched close to breaking point.
We are the lone superpower remaining in the world today (except, maybe, China), and we have a responsibility to keep some sense of order in this world.
Doing it by ourselves is not feasible and not possible. Shipping $440 billion away from people and programs that desperately need it here, especially when many begin to doubt whether this is actually going toward national security, is illogical and downright illegal.
We must either appeal to other countries to join the cause and reform our policies in regard to dealing with the Middle East, or America, as we know it, will go the way of the dodo.
02-09-2006