-Caveat Lector- http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/columnists/orl-reese121400.column Isolationism is hardly the problem Charley Reese December 14, 2000 I was disappointed to hear the president-elect say that the main problem facing America was isolationism and then issue a silly, macho warning against terrorism. Isolationism is hardly our problem. We are entangled in so many treaties and alliances, and we have American armed forces posted in 100 foreign countries, almost without exception on missions that have nothing to do with either national interests or national security. As for warning terrorists, let's get real. Most terrorist acts are suicidal. So whom is this tough talk supposed to scare? Certainly not men who are prepared to die as long as they can take a few of us with them. I already fear that I will have to adopt a sort of secular prayer in which, from time to time, I will repeat, "Well, at least he's not Al Gore." Terrorism is neither a police nor a military problem. It is a political problem. The new president ought to shut down that cottage industry on the beltway of so-called terrorism experts and concentrate on developing a foreign policy that will not give people just cause to hate us. I hope that no one is so naïve as to think that we are going to escape some kind of payback for having killed 500,000 Iraqi children with the cruelest embargo in human history. It isn't the government of Saddam Hussein we have to fear. We haven't harmed it. It's the Iraqi people whom we have mercilessly tortured. I don't know why it seems so difficult for politicians in Washington to understand. We have no reason on God's green Earth to harm the people of any country on this planet. If we have a quarrel with a government, then let us confine our actions to that government, not to innocent people. Nor should we ever support, in any way, another government that is harming innocent people. When we do, we become accessories, and then their enemies become our enemies. We also ought to stop committing war crimes by bombing or shooting missiles at countries when we are not in a state of war. Reprisals are war crimes. When we respond to an act of terrorism by bombing a country, we are doing exactly what the German army did in World War II when it would killed 50 or 60 civilians in reprisal for an attack on its soldiers. Some Americans have this kooky idea that if you kill innocent people with a bomb or a missile, instead of a rifle, it's not a war crime. It is. The choice of weapons makes no difference. It's just more cowardly to kill at a distance than it is up close. I would like to see some of these politicians who profess to be Christians start acting like Christians instead of decadent and pagan Romans. We should be helping people live better lives rather than destroying them. We should, as George Washington suggested, be extending the hand of friendship and commerce to all the nations of the world while not getting ourselves involved in their internal affairs or regional quarrels. As Americans, we have many, many domestic problems that require our full attention -- aging infrastructure, rampant immorality, a failed government education system, a shrinking agricultural base, a too-expensive medical-care system, polluted air and water, usurpation of power by various government entities, uncontrolled immigration. You probably can add others to my list. Mr. President-elect, isolationism is not the problem; it's part of the solution. Let's dump the aging Cold Warriors and bring some new thinking to our problems. Copyright © 2000, Orlando Sentinel <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
