There are times in foreign policy debates when choices are muddled in gray, and then there are times when foreign policy choices are easy to decipher. In World War II, opposing Adolf Hitler was an easy choice since we knew what would happen if he won.
In the Iraqi situation, the choices are not so hard to understand. Simply put, the insurgents are the bad guys. They are not freedom fighters, fighting to eliminate oppression. Instead, they are fighting to reinstall oppression. How do we know? History has already told us the answer.
When the Taliban ran Afghanistan, terror was the order of the day. When the Baathists ran Iraq, terror was the order of the day. Allowing the Baathists back in power will only return Iraq to a state of terror. Why is that so hard to understand?
In 1998, Congress, under a Democratic President, passed the Iraqi Liberation Act and there was no confusion as to what was at stake. Both sides agreed that Iraqi liberation was in our national interest. Yet today, some critics of the Bush policies treat these terrorists as if they are the equivalent of our founding fathers. They are not.
Nor are the recent riots in Paris or the violence in India the result of our action in Iraq. India has been suffering from radical Islamic violence since before 9/11. The terrorist attacks in Madrid, London and India and the rioting in Paris are just part of a larger war instituted by radical Islamic fascists long before 9/11. For these individuals, this is their clash of civilization, and their own writings show that clearly.
There is no gray in who is right and who is on the wrong side of history. Today, the morality of the intervention in Iraq is as clear as United States' entry into World War II. We are indeed fighting to give the Iraqi and Afghan people a chance at liberty. That should not be that hard to understand.
Eric Olsen recently wrote about the death of Theo Van Gogh that occurred a year ago. For those who still have doubt about the justice of our cause, just consider the case of Van Gogh. Van Gogh was killed because he told the truth through film about our enemies. Just multiply Van Gogh by millions and you will have the death toll of the innocent if we fail to prevail.
Ed/Pub:LisaM
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