Behind the Chairman’s Door

I was sitting in the office this afternoon with the television tuned to CNN, when George Bush’s latest press conference started. I remember a time when the President of the United States was a position that was respected throughout the world and was considered to be the “defender of all nations against injustice.” But as I was watching, I found myself wondering if I was watching the President of the United States or the opening monologue to a late night television show. While I was watching, I couldn’t get past the glib comments that the President was making to and about the White House Press; and the total rhetoric that was presented as “American Foreign Policy.”

Ok, so let me see if I understand the President. Any country that doesn’t embrace freedom and liberty for its people needs to have a regime change. But I found myself wondering why he has not demanded that his “allies in the Middle East,” like Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan have not been asked to tow the democratic line. The President would like the American people, and the world, to believe that the Middle East wants democracy. This is not untrue in any way, but what the Middle East doesn’t want is the US democracy. It has been demonstrated for the world over the past years of the Bush Administration that democracy is just a word that is used to justify war.

When the US invaded Afghanistan it was to remove the Taliban because of their support for terrorism and not allowing civil liberties. A puppet government was implemented, not elected, with Karzai has the head. In the past 4 years, how much as Afghanistan progressed towards a democratic union? Not at all. Afghanistan is caught in a civil war with their own people, where the nation is divided by the former Taliban and the puppet regime of the United States. So much so that the United States military handed over control of the most troublesome area of Afghanistan to NATO led troops, who are less equipped and don’t have the same mandate that the US troops had. Can NATO control the Helmund province of Afghanistan? Most likely not. If the US military with its supreme fire power was not able to do it, what makes you think that anyone else will?

When the US invaded Iraq it was to remove the dictator regime of Saddam Hussein for his atrocities against the Iraqi people. A puppet government was implemented with Maliki as the head. Iraq is on the verge of civil war and the US still doesn’t understand that democracy can not be brought by force to a people that don’t understand what democracy is. In a country that has not seen a popularly elected leader in decades, the first job should have been to help the Iraqi people and its key parties understand democracy. Instead, the US military moved in and implemented democracy. It is not a hidden fact that if the US military were to pull out tomorrow, the nation of Iraq would plunge into civil war, which would divide it into 3 different countries. Far from a “Mission Accomplished” moment, Mr. President.

But I digress, Saudi Arabia has been a staunch, and almost unilateral, supporter of the United States for decades. The Saudi people want democracy, they are tired of the wealthy monarchs taking the spoils of the land for themselves and the people suffering. Mr. President, have you cautioned the House of Saud that if they don’t bring a democracy to their country they will come under the wrath of the United States military? If you truly believe in your mission, your administration would have been best served to start with this country in your plan to spread democracy around the Arab world. But Saudi Arabia is continually excused from this exercise because it serves the US interests for it to continue as a monarchy, as it is clear that the Saudi people have no place in their hearts for the United States. And it is very difficult to get oil from a country when it’s elected government doesn’t accept your way of doing things.

Jordan, another staunch supporter of the United States, is also a monarchy without democracy. Have you warned them that if they don’t move towards a democratic government they will be the next targets of the US military? Most definiately not. The Jordanian government stands by Israel and the United States when it comes to any decision in the Middle East, which keeps the monarchy in power and the stops the spread of democracy.

Does the Bush Doctrine only apply to countries that don’t support his crusade to bring freedom and liberty? Like Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea, Lebanon, Palestine and more than likely, Pakistan.

And what of the Palestinians, who elected Hamas as their government. Your administration was very quick to lead the charge to ostracize them from the international community because they didn’t share your ideals. Democracy is about the will of the people, not espousing the United States’ view of the world and how it should run. If your administration had supported the Hamas government, they may have seen a coalition government come into place that could have actually lead Palestine to a free and progressive state. It could have lead to the resolution of the decade long Palestine – Israel conflict. Most importantly, it might have brought peace in the Middle East. But your administration’s rush judgment led the international community in boycotting the democratically elected government and further proving that the US brand of democracy is not for the Middle East.

In Pakistan, we struggle with the mullahs and imams that preach against modernization and the growth of the nation. We struggle with the terrorists that come into our country from foreign nations to destroy our quality of life, stifle the growth of our infant democracy, and paint Pakistan has a training ground for terrorists. We struggle with the numerous opposition groups to the sitting Musharraf/Aziz government that are unable to do anything but point a finger at the problems of the nation. We have seen the US supported governments of Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif rob this country blind, with a wink and a nod from Washington, because they were democratically elected. We have seen the failures of US democracy in Pakistan and the success of the democracy that Pervez Musharraf has brought to Pakistan. Under Musharraf and Aziz, Pakistan has seen exponential growth in the economy, quality of life and the people finally believe that Pakistan is their country. The people are being empowered. The local governments have been re-structured and empowered to work for the people. Our democracy works now and if allowed to grow, Pakistan will become stronger.

When you look at the “democracy” that the Bush administration has demonstrated, it is easy to understand why democracy is not flourishing, or wanted, in most Muslim countries. Since this administration has moved into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, the landmark documents in the freedom of the United States citizens, have been set aside to pursue the terrorist threats of the 21st Century. In an effort to protect the American people, your administration has scared the American people into believing that if they cling to civil rights and protection of their privacy, they would be helping the terrorists to attack the United States. What a great piece of rhetoric. If you can’t convince them, scare them. The terrorists are going to attack. The Mexican are invading the United States causing law and order issues and straining the United States economy. Whose next? The Canadians because they make better beer and have better hockey players? Or maybe the Mormons because they don’t espouse the traditions of the traditional Christian church? Democracy in the United States is now equivalent to Isolationism.

Having said that, I need to clarify that I agree that terrorism is one of the greatest threats of the 21st Century. But we need to be careful not to limit terrorism to just Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda. Terrorism takes many forms from the extremists, who claim to be Muslims, that believe suicide bombings are a guaranteed way to heaven, which you will not find anywhere in the Quran, to the state sponsored terrorism that was carried out by Adolf Hitler, Slobodan Milosevic, and Saddam Hussein.

And can we with all honesty say that what is going on in Palestine is not state sponsored terrorism? Have you ever read about a day in the life of a Palestinian? I guarantee you that if you were forced to live under the same conditions, you would be ready to die for freedom. The best depiction that I have seen so far of the Palestinian cause has been in an independent movie called “Paradise Now.” When you get a chance, watch it. They put yourself in that position of not being able to move freely in your own country. Not being able to make a living. Losing everything you own because of the wishes of an occupying state.

The Bush Doctrine has categorized terrorism in one word, Islam. Using terminology like extremists, fundamentalists, and terrorists, you have ostracized 1.2 billion Muslims from the framework of humanity. The terrorists that attacked the World Trade Center on 9/11, London on 7/7 and Madrid are not Muslims. The Quran doesn’t teach that suicide, or the killing of innocent people, is accepted in Islam or by any of its true Imams. We, like your Christian church, have our own weirdos and radicals in our midst that misinterpret the Quran to justify their objectives, which is no different than what Christian television evangelists teach from their pulpits, while interpreting the Bible to condemn others.

If you have a moment, and would like to understand the complete lack of Islam by some in the Christian world, I invite you to visit a website called Answering Islam, which calls Islam a religion of the devil. When I found this site a few nights ago, it brought me to tears to read how misinformed and deceived one group of Christian people are about the teachings of Islam.

So let me apply the same standard that you use. The United States is filled with radical groups like the Ku Klux Klan and the White Supremacists, not to mention the number of evangelical Christian churches that preach a hate doctrine against anyone who doesn’t accept their teachings, from specific groups of people to other religions. If we were to use the Bush Doctrine, the United States should mobilize its military to remove it of the oppressive extremists that plague it. The US Army should invade the south to capture every member of the Ku Klux Klan to bring it to justice for the atrocities that it has committed, and continues to commit, against the African Americans. The White Supremacists should be attacked and brought to justice for continuing the doctrine of Adolf Hitler. The decendants of the original settlers in the Americas should be brought to justice for the atrocities against the Native Americans, or the politically correct American Indians. And every evangelical Christian church that teaches that other religions are wrong in their beliefs should be shut down in the same spirit of closing the madrassas of the Muslim world. Every civilized nation has extremist groups, fringe groups, and troublemakers that upset the quality of life in their countries.

They all are terrorists. I don’t believe that any true Patriot would believe that any of the extremist groups in the United States represent freedom, yet your administration does nothing, NOTHING, to curtail their activities, while you invade the Muslim world with your “freedom and liberty” agenda. Mr. President, when you can hold up the United States as a shining example of a unilateral acceptance of all peoples from around the world; then you can tell other countries how to handle their extremist groups. Until then, maybe you should concentrate on running a country that is considered a super power, rather than competing with Jay Leno for laughs.

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