Monday, September 15, 2008

Pakistan is getting pissed

Pakistan soldiers 'confront US'

I'm not sure how I feel about the recent incursions into Pakistani territory. I think we need to be vigilant in rooting out the terrorist groups responsible for attacking our soldiers and destabilizing Afghanistan and Iraq, but entering into a sovereign nation without their permission to do so doesn't seem like the best way to go about it. This is further complicated by the fact that we haven't been able to carry out all of these missions without killing civilians, which will quickly turn the locals and the government against the U.S. We seem to miss the point that people get pissed when you kill their family and other innocent civilians.

It seems like too often in this ridiculously termed "war on terror" we end up pissing off more people and creating even more animosity towards the U.S. than there was in the first place. I think the government, and the people, of the U.S. needs to really take a look at how "terror" comes about. We keep fighting the effect, rather than the cause. I find it hard to believe that people are born to be "terrorists". We need to address the poverty and lack of opportunity in places like Iraq and Afghanistan if we really want to win this "war on Terror". Going around killing everyone isn't going to do anything besides make more people hate us. In Afghanistan, a country still reeling from the war against the Soviets, we need to help people rebuild their country so that they can create a future for themselves, then the Taliban and other militant groups will be persona non grata. We need to do what we can to help these people without creating military bases on their land and having them see us as occupiers.

Put the shoe on the other foot and think about what it would be like if someone came to our country, disposed of the government (whether we liked the current administration or not), and then started policing our country. I doubt we would greet them as "liberators".

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