2005-05-19
Indians on the warpath
Last weekend I went to a party full of Indians (from India). I don't have conversations with people, I debate people. Or interrogate them. Whatever. This is what I did again. I separately interrogated an Indian man and his wife. Basically to find out why India wasn't joining the free world in wars of liberation. The man told me that India wouldn't ally with someone unless they helped with defeating Pakistani-backed militants. I told him that America needed to take care of the bigger threat at the time, the USSR, and that India was of negative help there too. I also pointed out that Pakistan has been cracking down on terrorist groups under US pressure, and that they were even attempting to conquer the frontier provinces (that the British never conquered). It wasn't enough to move him. Ok, what about if Australia was leading the coalition? His eyes lit up - yes, India could join that.
Then onto the separate interrogation of his wife. Yes, she agreed that Saddam was a terrible dictator and it was good that he was overthrown. But what is America still doing there? America only looks after its own interests, so what is it doing there? I said that they can't leave until the Iraqis are trained up to take over the task, and that that is being done as fast as possible. Why is it taking 2 years? It should only take 6 months to train. I was on unfamiliar ground here. This is a technical matter for the military. I don't know what it takes to get soldiers trained up. I thought basic training was 10 weeks or something. I pointed out that America is there with a light force and is still busy fighting, I expect they don't have the resources to train people that quickly. But her suspicions remained. I can't remember if I pointed out that America has sunk billions into this "project" and that oil costs the same regardless of whether Iraq is a democracy or a dictatorship. I remember I pointed out that the US did the heavy lifting since 1941, saving Australia's butt at the Battle of the Coral Sea, and winning the Cold War so that we were never invaded by the Russians. She asked me if I was an American. Nope. "Good".
Ok, so what about if Australia was leading the coalition? Her eyes lit up - yes, that would be OK. Would India join? Definitely! Australia is trustworthy, unlike America. I said I didn't see any difference myself, both are trustworthy. No, Australia doesn't just look after its own interests. Australia is trustworthy.
I despair at this attitude. But, there is a convenient alternative available - Australia needs to take the initiative instead of waiting for America to take action. Tony Blair tried to be the public face of the Iraq war, which was great, but I don't think a left-wing politician is going to carry us the rest of the way. Someone else needs to pick the ball up, and there is no reason why it shouldn't be Australia. Besides which, America does deserve some of its reputation. E.g. Colin Powell saw nothing wrong with watching 200,000 people die in Bosnia. It apparently wasn't in America's interest, so that's all there is to it. And we witnessed the ugly spectacle of conservatives opposing the Kosovo war, which led to Serbia becoming a democracy, and you can now see it listed as "free" at www.freedomhouse.org. Oh yeah, I do remember I pointed out that Somalia, Bosnia and Kosovo weren't seen to be in America's "interests", but America went there anyway. But she just said she wasn't familiar with them.
Either way, the solution is obvious. Howard needs to pick up the ball and run with it. History will record that America did the heavy lifting in keeping the free world free since 1941, but until it is fait accompli, we're going to see endless criticism from the left-wing and the Eurotrash, who still see dictators as the moral equivalent of democracies. One day in the future, people will look upon dictatorship the same way as slavery, which is exactly what it is. Until then, America needs to ignore the squeals, and just push on.
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Then onto the separate interrogation of his wife. Yes, she agreed that Saddam was a terrible dictator and it was good that he was overthrown. But what is America still doing there? America only looks after its own interests, so what is it doing there? I said that they can't leave until the Iraqis are trained up to take over the task, and that that is being done as fast as possible. Why is it taking 2 years? It should only take 6 months to train. I was on unfamiliar ground here. This is a technical matter for the military. I don't know what it takes to get soldiers trained up. I thought basic training was 10 weeks or something. I pointed out that America is there with a light force and is still busy fighting, I expect they don't have the resources to train people that quickly. But her suspicions remained. I can't remember if I pointed out that America has sunk billions into this "project" and that oil costs the same regardless of whether Iraq is a democracy or a dictatorship. I remember I pointed out that the US did the heavy lifting since 1941, saving Australia's butt at the Battle of the Coral Sea, and winning the Cold War so that we were never invaded by the Russians. She asked me if I was an American. Nope. "Good".
Ok, so what about if Australia was leading the coalition? Her eyes lit up - yes, that would be OK. Would India join? Definitely! Australia is trustworthy, unlike America. I said I didn't see any difference myself, both are trustworthy. No, Australia doesn't just look after its own interests. Australia is trustworthy.
I despair at this attitude. But, there is a convenient alternative available - Australia needs to take the initiative instead of waiting for America to take action. Tony Blair tried to be the public face of the Iraq war, which was great, but I don't think a left-wing politician is going to carry us the rest of the way. Someone else needs to pick the ball up, and there is no reason why it shouldn't be Australia. Besides which, America does deserve some of its reputation. E.g. Colin Powell saw nothing wrong with watching 200,000 people die in Bosnia. It apparently wasn't in America's interest, so that's all there is to it. And we witnessed the ugly spectacle of conservatives opposing the Kosovo war, which led to Serbia becoming a democracy, and you can now see it listed as "free" at www.freedomhouse.org. Oh yeah, I do remember I pointed out that Somalia, Bosnia and Kosovo weren't seen to be in America's "interests", but America went there anyway. But she just said she wasn't familiar with them.
Either way, the solution is obvious. Howard needs to pick up the ball and run with it. History will record that America did the heavy lifting in keeping the free world free since 1941, but until it is fait accompli, we're going to see endless criticism from the left-wing and the Eurotrash, who still see dictators as the moral equivalent of democracies. One day in the future, people will look upon dictatorship the same way as slavery, which is exactly what it is. Until then, America needs to ignore the squeals, and just push on.
# posted by Paul Edwards @ 20:49 
