Thursday, April 20, 2006
Common Enemies Unite Us
Throughout American history, as a nation, we have had a variety of allies. It seems like nothing brings two sides together better than a common enemy. Despite America’s current relationship with Great Britain, we allied with France during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 since we shared a dislike of the British. During WWI and WWII, despite a long history of violence, Great Britain and France allied to fight a shared enemy. During WWII America even allied with the Soviets to fight a shared “greater threat,” the Nazi’s. Yet, for the next 50 years we allied with everyone from the South Vietnamese to the Afghans to fight the Soviets.
It seems as though nothing can help two peoples put aside their differences better than shared enemy. Moreover, to use the American colonies as an example, nothing can unify a number of smaller factions into one solid force like a shared threat. That being said, I feel that Iran’s nuclear program could possibly provide just such a situation.
It is no secret that Iraq and Iran have a troubled history. Also, everyone on the planet probably knows that Iraq is having a difficult time unifying its people under one cohesive government. I believe that a US led (I have no idea if the UN will participate) invasion of Iran, using Iraqi soldiers for support and Iraq as a launching pad, will help bring the Iraqis together. By uniting the Iraqis in an alliance with the USA, to keep Iran from building nuclear weapons, this war will strengthen Iraq and it will give the USA a much needed Arab ally. On the other hand, Afghanistan and Pakistan, despite their border issues, will be forced to strengthen their borders to prevent a war with Iran from spilling into their country. Therefore, Pakistan will address its border issues and (just like Iraq), Afghanistan will be forced to strengthen its federal government and military to prepare for a conflict in their region. Since America already has its military in Afghanistan and Iraq, there is no better staging area.
There is a strong argument to be made that much of America’s prosperity and globalization of our products in the 1950s and 60s were the result of needing to rebuild Germany and Japan after WWII. So, while no one should ever go to war just to have an area to rebuild, it is an inevitable result of destruction.
Let’s say hypothetically that the US goes to war with Iran. The first thing the US needs to do is admit that we are in a major war, we must commit to victory, and we must accept that there will be destruction and casualties. However, if America makes that commitment I believe that we will be victorious. That being said, with a newly unified Iraq to keep Iran in check, with a newly strengthened Afghanistan in place, with a new foreign relations policy with India in place, with a 21st Century version of the Marshall Plan in place to rebuild the Middle East and Central Asia, it seems like stability will eventually be brought to the region. It seems like President Bush’s vision (which people have ridiculed since day 1) may eventually come true. It seems like American business will have a new haven (as will China, India and Russia) to invest and rebuild the area.
It seems as though nothing can help two peoples put aside their differences better than shared enemy. Moreover, to use the American colonies as an example, nothing can unify a number of smaller factions into one solid force like a shared threat. That being said, I feel that Iran’s nuclear program could possibly provide just such a situation.
It is no secret that Iraq and Iran have a troubled history. Also, everyone on the planet probably knows that Iraq is having a difficult time unifying its people under one cohesive government. I believe that a US led (I have no idea if the UN will participate) invasion of Iran, using Iraqi soldiers for support and Iraq as a launching pad, will help bring the Iraqis together. By uniting the Iraqis in an alliance with the USA, to keep Iran from building nuclear weapons, this war will strengthen Iraq and it will give the USA a much needed Arab ally. On the other hand, Afghanistan and Pakistan, despite their border issues, will be forced to strengthen their borders to prevent a war with Iran from spilling into their country. Therefore, Pakistan will address its border issues and (just like Iraq), Afghanistan will be forced to strengthen its federal government and military to prepare for a conflict in their region. Since America already has its military in Afghanistan and Iraq, there is no better staging area.
There is a strong argument to be made that much of America’s prosperity and globalization of our products in the 1950s and 60s were the result of needing to rebuild Germany and Japan after WWII. So, while no one should ever go to war just to have an area to rebuild, it is an inevitable result of destruction.
Let’s say hypothetically that the US goes to war with Iran. The first thing the US needs to do is admit that we are in a major war, we must commit to victory, and we must accept that there will be destruction and casualties. However, if America makes that commitment I believe that we will be victorious. That being said, with a newly unified Iraq to keep Iran in check, with a newly strengthened Afghanistan in place, with a new foreign relations policy with India in place, with a 21st Century version of the Marshall Plan in place to rebuild the Middle East and Central Asia, it seems like stability will eventually be brought to the region. It seems like President Bush’s vision (which people have ridiculed since day 1) may eventually come true. It seems like American business will have a new haven (as will China, India and Russia) to invest and rebuild the area.
