13 June 2009

I have found it interesting and puzzling to continually here of winning in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Winning what?  You would think we went to war against the two populations, but it turns out - apparently - that our objective was more to make them just like us.  We have a penchant about doing that; we are all really pretty much alike, aren't we?  Want the same things, and think pretty much the same, after all is said and done?

That's really pretty much not true, particularly in countries dominated by the Muslim religion, since Islam does not distinguish between religion and politics - it's all the one and the same, and religion is a dominating phenominon in the Near East.  That is not to say they don't want "freedom", wealth and opportunity; it does mean that the way they get there is going to be different from our approach, and the government they settle in with will be different too.  Can we accept that?  We'd better, because that's the way it's going to be.

The ones who should be winning are the moderates of both countries, that is those who are not radical fundamentalists.  If they are successful in developing a stable government (albeit different from ours, how different to be determined) does that mean we win?  But then what do the mediaists know about winning, other cultures and creating a government that can support a stable economy?  I contend, not much; and that is a good deal of the problem.

Nation building is a terribly demanding challenge and it must be done by the "nation" itself (that's one of the problems in the Near East - a relative lack of real nationhood).  Ah, but we did it in Germany and Japan, didn't we?  No, we did not.  We provided the wherewithal for them to do it themselves, and they had the discipline and incentive to do it - their way, after the smoke cleared.  "Democracies" in Iraq and Afghanistan will not look much like Western democracies.  They will have strong religious overtones, and they will be tribal in many ways.

So, will that constitute winning for us?  It really doesn't matter, since perception is everything and the mediasts will create our perception for us.  So I guess we'll have to wait until they tell us, however they decide to do that.