I have grown up in America my whole life; I love this country and the ideals it was built on. I appreciate the fact that we can speak our mind, that we can travel freely and that we can congregate and exchange opposing views without risk of jail or torture. In short, I have been proud to be an American.
Over the past few years, though, I have become progressively aware of the brutal reality that my America isn't living up to its high standards. I speak specifically of foreign policy actions.
The war in Iraq blatantly contradicts America's most sacred ideals. We are a democratic country - in fact, we see ourselves as the beacon of democracy, freedom and justice to the world. From the simple fact that the majority of the world does not support the U.S. invasion of Iraq, that we couldn't even buy our votes in the United Nations Security Council and that we publicly scoff at international law makes me wonder whether we are hypocrites, espousing noble ideas but only adhering superficially to our standards when we see fit.
Reading world history, one often finds a stark difference between our ideals and our foreign policy. In the course of a sad history of abandoning our morals in exchange for our short-term (economic, political and personal) self interest, we have alienated ourselves from the world and made enemies in every corner of the globe. There has been consequences - the conflict can and will come home. Sadly, Sept. 11 proved this.
The last two years under the Bush administration have further strained our relationship with the world beyond belief, even among our longtime allies. These events include our continued economic and political exploitation of the third world, support of the unjust and racist Israeli regime (culminating in last week's murder of an American college student in the occupied territory by the Israeli military), dismissal of the Kyoto environment protocols without providing alternative energy solutions, stifling life-saving pharmaceutical trade initiatives that could have greatly aided the war against AIDS, conducting improper and undemocratic nation-building in Afghanistan, opposing the creation of the International Criminal Court and now the preemptive strike on Iraq without United Nations support. Ultimately, Bush has embraced a reckless foreign policy that relays the image of an unjust imperialist empire.
What makes the world think we are going to impose democracy and justice in Iraq or preserve it anywhere else, if we conduct ourselves so poorly? The reason for the world's anger with the United States is not because we are free people - foreigners want freedom, democracy and prosperity as much as we do. Our enemies are not willing to die simply because of their envy for our strong economy, but instead they are angry because our political and economic policies - specifically in the Middle East - have nearly always strayed from their noble ideals. In their eyes, we are not the world's protectors of democracy but rather the greatest purveyor of violence and harm in the world.
For example, we supported the oppressive Pahlavi dictatorship in Iran for 20 years after crushing a popular democratic rebellion in the early 1950s, encouraged the Saudi dictatorship (Saudi citizens are refused some of the most basic human rights), provided weapons and financial aid to Israel in its violation of numerous United Nations resolutions, violated the 1954 Geneva Accords by entering Vietnam, murdered thousands upon thousands of Cambodians with an indiscriminate bombing campaign in the 1970s, halted democratic elections in Latin America to ensure that sympathetic rulers were installed even if they were harsh dictators, helped Saddam Hussein use chemical weapons against the Iranians in the mid-1980s, formed political and economic partnerships with nations engaged in genocide such Indonesia after its ethnic cleansing campaign in East Timor in the 1970s - the list goes on and grows more appalling. We have engaged in humanitarian acts around the world (e.g. Somalia and Kosovo), but they are the exception, not the rule.
And today this government is trying to pull a fast one on us. The administration has somehow morphed Saddam Hussein into Osama bin Laden, and without any substantiated proof decided that Iraq must pay for the crimes of Sept. 11. History has shown that Hussein has never been willing to die for his causes. Because of this, he can be contained and neutralized. The knowledge that deterrence could work is why we could not garner support for this war from the world. The weapons inspectors wanted to stay.
In any case, we have picked the wrong fight at the wrong time and for the wrong reasons. We enter the war in Iraq to protect ourself; but we are creating more enemies than we are destroying in the downfall of the Hussein family. Many moderates in the world will become fundamentalists, and groups like al Queda will get more recruits and more finance from sympathizers. We seek stability in the region, but dropping bombs on Baghdad isn't the way to do it. The "shock and awe" effect infuriates people, it does not neutralize them.
The fact remains that America cannot physically defend itself against an onslaught of terrorism. No matter how many military and police we use to protect us, we cannot possibly protect ourselves everywhere and at all times. Realize that the best way to fight terrorism is to cut off its flow of oxygen, to attack the biggest recruitment tool that has made men willing to kill themselves in order to inflict just a minor blow to our immense empire. Ultimately, we need to change America's policy and image.
Unfortunately, this administration has been short-sighted. It hasn't realized that although we can probably easily win the war against Iraq by ourselves, we simply cannot win the war against terror alone. The war has sadly begun without tactful policy making - our image in the world is deteriorating, our enemies and even our allies are seeing America as a rogue nation, as an imperialist imposing its will on a majority of countries who oppose its policy. I hope they have mercy on us.
If the war must continue, I hope that this war ends quickly and that Saddam is gone in a month and Bush in two years. I hope that the world can forget and that there is light at the end of the tunnel. I only fear that this light is an oncoming train.
Amir Mokari is a Trinity sophomore and an associate editorial page editor of The Chronicle.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.