When You Lay Down With Dogs….
…you wake up with fleas.
Again and again in U.S. foreign policy (and world history, to be fair), this idiom has proven itself to be true. When I was an International Relations major at San Francisco State in the late 80s, the focus was on Central America and our involvement there. Now, the focus is on the Middle East.
Watching “Frontline” on PBS last night, the focus was on the Taliban, and the support that they have received by our ally, Pakistan. Watching the fanaticism and rage that is held by these people, it occurs to me that the history of our involvement in this region has been a disaster from the beginning.
In the war against the religious fanatics in Iran, we armed and supported Saddam Hussein in Iraq. In the war against the Soviet Union in the 1980s, we armed, supported, and trained the Mujahideen in Afghanistan – a group so brutal and vicious that the people of Afghanistan welcomed the protection of the Taliban as they swept into power.
Perhaps this is simplistic of me, but if we want to fight evil in the world, we need to fight it with the powers of good. We need to stop saying, “The end justifies the means”, stop ignoring the evil that we are supporting, stop allying ourselves with countries that could easily turn on us in the short term. (Or long term…there’s a concept…American foreign policy that looks to the future…) If they’re going to turn on us, after all, wouldn’t it be better for our side if we hadn’t armed and trained their military?
I’m not an isolationist. I think our world has moved beyond that point. But I do think that the danger of allying ourselves always with “the enemy of our enemy” is too great. We need to start allying ourselves with people who have the same values that we have. In that vein, we also need to take a closer look at our own morality, and at the morality of our actions. If our government condones the torture of prisoners, we as citizens of our country are, to a degree, complicit in torture. We MUST NOT condone the torture of prisoners, or the suspension of habeas corpus. The consequences of this sort of behavior in our past have been far too great. They could very easily get much, much worse. If we want to win the war of good vs. evil, shouldn’t we make sure that we truly are on the side of good, as we so often claim to be?
10 Comments
Gina
I think that Frontline is one of the best shows on television. Period.
hellomelissa
clap clap clap clap clap clap clap! yay j!
wordgirl
No joke! I have these discussions with my mother (a Republican) where she’s all horrified about the weapons other “unstable” countries have and when I point out that we sold those weapons to those very countries, the discussion ends.
Py Korry
It seems in many parts of the world, the allies we make to block more extreme elements in places like the Gulf or the mideast are just horrible people to begin with. However, when you look at the alternative, it’s difficult to find groups and individuals who share some of what we believe (on paper, at least).
It’s sad to see that torture, the erosion of habeas corpus, and our government spying on us doesn’t raise much concern. But when a congressman from Florida sends sexually explicit e-mails and IMs to teenage boys, people wonder what the hell is going on in politics.
Beenzzz
We play war games and therefore are open to retaliation. I think you’re absolutely right about picking our allies. Often times, I think America comes off as a huge bully…..especially to those who don’t live here.
Maya's Granny
Sometimes I think that America is a huge bully. We have long held to the view that “He’s a bastard, but he’s our bastard.” As though the people who suffer his behavior somehow suffer less because he is our bastard.
ally bean
If we want to win the war of good vs. evil, shouldn’t we make sure that we truly are on the side of good, as we so often claim to be?
Amen. That’s the prob in a nutshell. Well-put, J.
Ml
I agree with what you said. Interesting how everyone hate America, but want them around when their ass is in a pickle. Yes, we do need to choose our allies better.
Lori Beaver
Pretty insiteful and some real food for thought. We do need to set an example, instead of saying, do as I say, not as I do. And as citizens, we must learn to speak up against the evil, and take action to stop it.
ann adams
Yep.