One thing that increasingly concerns me is how much we have turned into a nation of war-mongers. If our foreign policy was once “speak softly and carry a big stick”, over the years it has become nothing more than the big stick.
We have moved from a black and white “for me or against” Cold War world view to a post Cold War “for me or against”, “all or nothing” War on Terror. During the brief pause between the two wars, we had the Clinton years that were defined by a total lack of policy vision altogether — inevitably leaving us unprepared for the new century and with the Bush Cold War hawks leading us to Iraq and Iran.
The fact of the matter is that the U.S. has lost its ability to converse with other nations without showing its guns. Whenever I listen to John McCain talk about the importance of war or killing, I feel like the nation has lost its soul. Patriotism doesn’t require soldiers and citizens (on both sides) to die or be in conflict. And when politicans (mainly Republicans) talk about the strategic importance of staying the course in Iraq, I wonder whether they have any clue that no one on this planet (not in the Middle East, Europe, Latin America, Asia or elsewhere) wants us in Iraq except for George W. Bush, John McCain, and a couple of other neocons.
Then when I hear them shifting focus to blame Iran, I wonder how we could possibly be successful in bombing Iran if we have failed so miserably in Iraq. If our threats and our war-mongering are so obviously counterproductive, why continue the course? And if we ever invade Iran — as the Republicans would like — how will Hillary justify having voted for Bush’s anti-Iran law? Continue reading →
Grave Error 