[Grovenet] Three cups of tea

[Walt Wentz]

Good point, David.
And it should be remembered that we have three times promised the  
Kurds our protection, and three times sacrificed them... the first  
two times to Saddam, the third to Turkey.
This is not to say that the Kurdish militants are "nice" people. In  
their age-old obsession of a "Greater Kurdistan," they can become as  
vicious and narrow-minded as, say, the Serbs. They happen to occupy  
contiguous territories of adjacent, intolerant nations with whom  
American is at least trying to maintain an uneasy peace, but they  
really don't give a damn about keeping the lid on if they see a  
chance to advance their nationalistic, tribal dream. And now,  
although they may make nice occasionally in Iraqi politics, they  
really have no reason to trust us, or to follow our short-term  
initiatives.
The Repubs enjoy gloating over the prospect that Iraq will boil over  
again after we finally pull out-- and, given that the nation was  
originally tacked together by the Brits from mutually hostile tribes,  
sects and nationalities, even a Repub should be able to predict that.  
And the Kurds, especially if they can grab off a good share of  
Northern Iraq's oil wealth and expel the Arabs that Saddam moved in,  
will be among the first to stir the pot.  The situation would  
probably still be bad, but at least we might have marginally more  
influence, if we had originally treated all concerned as human  
beings, rather than chess-pieces in a carelessly-played, short-term   
game.
Walt
On Mar 6, 2009, at 6:43 AM, David Morelli wrote:

> I just finished reading "Three cups of tea".  It is an interesting
> history of Greg Mortenson, the American mountain climber who has been
> competing with the Islamic madrassas in Pakistan and Afghanistan for
> the hearts and minds of the next generation.  A very interesting  
> story.
>
> There is more available at
> http://www.threecupsoftea.com/
>
> In one chapter it reminded me that in the run up to the American
> support for the Northern Alliance, the United States promised that
> they were going to rebuild Afghanistan and that we would not forget
> them.  It further reminded me that after the Taliban had been removed
> from power and Al Quaeda had been sent packing, the Bush
> Administration redirected money approved by Congress for Afghanistan
> to further his plans for an invasion of Iraq.
>
> Because Bush did not follow up on his promise to Afghanistan and
> America for the rebuilding of the shattered country, today we again
> face the prospect of a protracted war in Afghanistan with a resurgent
> Taliban and spill over into Pakistan.
>
> Some members of Congress are fearful that Obama will allow the gains
> in Iraq to slip away.  Where were they when Bush did that in
> Afghanistan?  Why are they not making the Bush failure to secure
> Afghanistan part of their arguments for their proposed policy in Iraq?
>
> The answer may have more to do with Republican Party political
> posturing than any real concern for Iraq or Afghanistan.  The people
> in those nations are pawns in the game of "Washington Power
> Politics".  They are only important when they can help get a
> Republican elected, otherwise they are expendable or invisible.
>
> Are the Democrats the same?  Bill Clinton took a lot of heat from the
> Republicans for getting involved in Bosnia when Christians were
> cleansing Muslims.  His action bought a lot of good will among
> moderate Muslims.  Good will that evaporated with Abu Grabe and
> Guantanamo.  It makes me wonder if the Republican Party hates all
> Muslims, or if their spokes persons are oblivious to the existence of
> moderate Muslims.
>
> The Reagan Republican think tanks are paranoid of "Islamofascists"
> and the whole fundamentalist Islamic movement, which may be a valid
> concern.  But, pushing moderates into that camp is not a smart move.
> The last eight years has shown the world that a Republican
> administration considers dead Muslim civilians to be "collateral
> damage", not innocent human beings.  People who wish to continue that
> sort of thinking should not be trusted with sharp objects.
>
> David
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