Originally posted by Espada9
I don’t know what utopian fantasy world you live in but you falsely assume the citizens of these regimes have a choice, the choice is to live and go along with the totalitarian regime or be tortured to death, have your family tortured to death, doesn’t sound like much of a choice to me.
You need to talk to a few people who have lived under these conditions, I’ve never met one who didn’t want democracy, why do you think so many have left (given the choice) and moved to Europe or the US/Canada???
Are large numbers of people moving to Pakistan, Iran, and Saudi Arabia because they chose those forms of governments, NOT!
Using hindsight, the US has surly made plenty of mistakes in the past but the intentions of my country are usually on the positive side of history, it’s not Disney World out there, often the choice is the lesser of two evils.
Did we “impose democracy” on Nazi Germany??? Imperialistic Japan???
The Soviet Union???
It’s too bad the rest of the world is so timid about confronting the real bully’s of the world, there would be no killing fields in Cambodia or Rwanda, or the former Yugoslavia if the UN acted like it should but it’s just another corrupt bourocracy out for it’s own profit (oil for food anyone?).
If the UN is unable to enforce it’s own resolutions then what is it, but an emasculated joke?
The UN teaches the tyrants of the world that if they kill a few Westerners, the UN will go away, it’s a policy of conditioned response that has perpetuated the Sadam Hussein’s of the world.
World Health Organization reported that over 6,000 children starved every Month in Iraq while palace after palace was being built. If you sit on the sidelines and watch, I believe it makes you an accomplice. I hope I’m never being mugged while a bunch of Euros or Canadians are standing by because judging by their lack of courage and moral conviction I could only count on them watching me die while they “go and get a latté”.
The question about "imposing democracy" pertains to the USA
imposing "democracy" in a region where historically there was never any democracy.
The west has meddled in the Middle East since 1918.
The west created Iraq in 1918 by fusing together three distinct tribes, Sunni, Kurd and Shia.
In 1948, the West annexed the 14th province of Iraq and called it Kuwait and installed a royal family.
In 1948, the West created Israel in the wake of the Holocaust
and thus moved millions of Palestinians off their land.
The perception created throughout the Arab Middle East is that the West has been interferring in their internal affairs for the past 100 years.
The Arab Middle East has consistently fought this interference
(Nasser 1950's, Iran in 1979 and now Iraq in 2003/4).
if there was a genuine groundswell within any of these regions to
adopt democracy, democracy could take hold.
However, we have had a series of lies perpetrated by the USA and Britain to justify an illeagl war in Iraq.
The forces in Iraq are viewed as occupiers and not liberators.
Why is that ? Why is it that USA has been continually attacked by
the Shia for example ?
Who says that democracy is the right sort of goverment to have anyway ?
Yes, it works for you and me - but who are we to tell other countries that they should adopt democracy ?
And before you go on about WW2 - the USA (and I am assuming you are from the USA) only became involved in the WW2 after the bombing of Pearl Harbour.
The USA were neutral while the Nazi's conquered Europe between
1939-1941
Similarly WW1: the USA remained neutral until 1917, in awar
from 1914-1918.
Your country is isolationist by inclination.
Credit where it is due - Europe sat on it's hands while the worst atrocities since WW2 were committed in Bosnia.
President Clinton and the USA shamed Europe in to acting after
the USA decided to take action.
But by nature your country is isolationist.