How Does One Fight a War of Ideology
The rhetoric coming from Washington DC which is increasing in volume is that the present "War on terror" is more a battle of ideologies (west vs. Islam) than it is really a war against a nation or some specific group of people. The Bush Administration is calling for more troops so we can wage this "War of Ideologies" and win it. I wonder how it is that more soldiers, weapons, death, destruction, and killing is somehow going to win people over to our western way of thinking? The way you win a war of ideology is through example. This is the way we won the Cold War. The Russian people finally got so fed up with seeing all that the people in the west had that they did not, that this finally came home to roost even in the highest echelons of government. As a result, Russia, basically succumbed to an internal reorganization and way of thinking as to what it wanted, and "boom" communism disappeared bloodlessly. This is happening in Viet Nam, it is happening in China. It was the constant looking out and accessing of outside information by younger generations that have driven changes in these once totalitarian, repressive regimes. It will happen too in the Middle East if we only let them alone to battle out their inner demons. Like an arthritic hip. The pain will eventually burn itself out. I am not saying this will happen overnight, but when they see how much better the other parts of the world are, how much better and safer their children are, how much more prosperous the other people are, their populations will come around, just like the members of the old Soviet Empire did. It is not necessarily a pretty sight, as we can see from the emerging nations of the old Soviet Bloc, but at least the solution is theirs and the US did not have to send any troops over there, bully any people (at least militarily), and none of our young men had to die to get these changes to happen. As Christ said - nothing beats living as an example to others. If you are a good example, other people are going to want to follow you. We should get our military noses out of the Middle East, start a HUGE diplomacy campaign, help to rebuild that part of the world, since we helped to destroy it, and then just live our lives as a people and a nation in an exemplary manner, supporting universal human rights and making our country a shining example of what others would like to be. THAT is how you win the War of Ideologies, not by pummeling those who feel or act differently than you.
