So What Side AM I On?
The other day, I sorta repeated my mistake on Facebook. I said "it looked like Kyrgyzstan was one Ayatollah from joining the War Against America" and was promptly rewarded with...offers to become FatwaPilot. People with names I couldn't pronounce with links to pages written in Arabic wanted to Friend me all of a sudden. Which means I have to backtrack, again.
I said what I said because I remember how it seemed to happen in Iran, and how what happened in Iran in 1978~'79 seemed to parallel what is going on right now in Kyrgyzstan. The Iranian Revolution, by accounts of the time, started mainly by students wanting modern liberties and societal improvements for their nation...and their voices where shoved aside by Khomeini's Mullahs and their true believers. I think all it would take for Kyrgyzstan to go the same way is a leader with the same charisma and force of personality. And then woe betide all those Americans at Manas AB--they'll be POWs for a year and a half.
On Bill Moyers' show tonight, there was a guest on who said that the American military officer corps had abandoned the idea that military victories are in our national interest, which of course, is a suspect thing when we are fighting 3.5 wars and doing it without much popular support.
America hasn't been more than 50% good to me over the course of my life. It's been pretty horrible to me, especially of late. But I'm not going to go around blowing up buildings, shooting people, taking hostages, and so on. Been there, done that. Terrorism is ultimately boring and painful to the participants. I realize, though, that the Enemy of "My" Enemy is still My Enemy...because I don't know if America can be on MY side. I'm not sure I know who America is anymore.
I said what I said because I remember how it seemed to happen in Iran, and how what happened in Iran in 1978~'79 seemed to parallel what is going on right now in Kyrgyzstan. The Iranian Revolution, by accounts of the time, started mainly by students wanting modern liberties and societal improvements for their nation...and their voices where shoved aside by Khomeini's Mullahs and their true believers. I think all it would take for Kyrgyzstan to go the same way is a leader with the same charisma and force of personality. And then woe betide all those Americans at Manas AB--they'll be POWs for a year and a half.
On Bill Moyers' show tonight, there was a guest on who said that the American military officer corps had abandoned the idea that military victories are in our national interest, which of course, is a suspect thing when we are fighting 3.5 wars and doing it without much popular support.
America hasn't been more than 50% good to me over the course of my life. It's been pretty horrible to me, especially of late. But I'm not going to go around blowing up buildings, shooting people, taking hostages, and so on. Been there, done that. Terrorism is ultimately boring and painful to the participants. I realize, though, that the Enemy of "My" Enemy is still My Enemy...because I don't know if America can be on MY side. I'm not sure I know who America is anymore.