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The difference between the French Revolution and the American Revolution, Muhammad and Jesus, the Civil War Reconstuction and post-WWII Japan are manifest in the Bush administration's approach to the War in Iraq.
When Bush likened Iraq's war for freedom to the American Revolution, I cringed because he wouldn't mention the chief differences: abject poverty and degradation. The American revolutionaries were living in the land of plenty with a high morale. The American Revolution was never about getting enough daily bread, as much as it was about taxes and participation in the public process. The revolution in Iraq-- and in many countries-- was about food, water, clothing, as well as participation in the public process. Whereas the Americans had the luxury to be elegant and relatively patient during the post-revolutionary foundation building; the French revolutionaries were nearly as desperate as they were before the revolution because now there was no government foundation from which to build, just a mass of poor people in a vacuum. The process in Iraq more closely resembles the French paradigm, and obviously so, and we had to think seriously on how we were going to avoid that morass of violent factionism which was bound to happen, which was why I was befuddled by the White House's cavalier attitude before the war. There was never a doubt as to whether we would oust Saddam, that's not where the trouble was. It was whether we knew what we were doing when he left. The closest American experience to an Iraq style Reconstruction was our post-civil War southern Reconstruction and even the most generous historian can only give the US a C-, and 140 years later, we can't even Reconstruct inner city schools.
This is a job for Muhammad, as one best Reconstructionist in Civilization. Paul may have walked across the known world twice to spread Christianity, but he had Rome doing all of the heavy work. A man traveling alone, or even with a small group, in 400 a.d. in Arabia was murdered. Period. Paul couldn't have even gotten out the door, and forget Ghandi and hunger strikes. That Muhammad turned these violent desperate warring swarms into a stable and profitable empire with relatively little blood shed is astounding, and that he did it with a few miraculous bloodless surrenders deserves the study of any serious reconstructionist. But instead, Bush took his cues from Jesus and Jefferson and is surprised when they don't map well on to Iraq.
quote:The process in Iraq more closely resembles the French paradigm, and obviously so, and we had to think seriously on how we were going to avoid that morass of violent factionism which was bound to happen, which was why I am befuddled by the White House's cavalier attitude before the war.
No, it's actually closer to the very same thing that happened in the 19-teens, when European powers "freed" the same people from the oppression of the Turks. Send a few troops, fight a few battles, stick in a handful of supposedly friendly leaders, and tell them we wish them the best while wringing our hands at the commercial opportunities.
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Ever read about ancient King Cyrus of Babylon? (It was the same one from the old testament) It was said that a virgin could walk naked accross his country carrying a sack of gold and not be molested.
Now that was a very highly moral people (or a very ugly, tough looking virgin!).
THough scripturally Babylon has always signified evil people, this is because they were always the enemy. There have been some good, moral, ethical people there and still are some good, moral ethical people there.
I believe that you should use the Marshall plan for your idea of ethical reconstruction under our government. The problem is that ethical reconstruction cannot happen with out corrupt leadership/
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The Marshall Plan was 12 trillion dollars geared to help well-educated industrized people who were down but not out. *shakes head* This is exactly the disconnect that I'm talking about. If we were serious about rehabilitating Russia, and not scared that they would overrun us, then the Marshall plan would be the way to go. You can't stretch the plan to fit Iraq and Afghanistan. The countries don't have the economic integrity or infrastructure. It's the difference between starting to a school in an affluent suburb and the inner city, or teaching Italian to a person who already speaks Latin and Spanish vs. a person who only speaks English moderately well.
Reconstruction is messier business that the Marshall Plan will allow, by its own admission. Plus, under the Marshall Plan, the Iraqies would have to submit to free-trade and American supervision. And to be honest, I don't trust American corporations not to carve up that country into oil producing regions and put together a non-sustainable unbalanced economy, that keeps them hooked on us and anything but self-sufficient.
We need a new paradigm. The Marshall plan takes for granted a balanced economy, internal integrity, and a decently educated and capitalistic citizenry and a government that accepts our supervision but could resist our domination.
quote:Reconstruction is messier business that the Marshall Plan will allow, by its own admission. Plus, under the Marshall Plan, the Iraqies would have to submit to free-trade and American supervision. And to be honest, I don't trust American corporations not to carve up that country into oil producing regions and put together a non-sustainable unbalanced economy, that keeps them hooked on us and anything but self-sufficient.
Who would you trust? European powers? Once again, I refer you to the early 1900's, when the whole of Arabia—which was all considered one territory—was cut up and divided along false borders declared, written, and drawn by completely European hands, with leaders put into power by European interests. This is how the reprehensible house of Saud has developed into the number one breeding ground for international terrorism, and why the rest of the Middle East is mired in constant bickering over land and border entitlements.
And if the current chain of events continues as planned, the same thing is poised to happen again.
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This is where the UN is supposed to come in, folks. If it's not being used because it's such a slow process or it's ineffectual, find a way to streamiline it and make it effective.
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"That Muhammad turned these violent desperate warring swarms into a stable and profitable empire with relatively little blood shed is astounding, and that he did it with a few miraculous bloodless surrenders deserves the study of any serious reconstructionist"
Irami Osei-Frimpong.
Tell that to the now extinct Jewish tribes of Arabia.
Oh, and how many people died in wars to spread Islam? How many people were enslaved?
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I find myself wondering what you're using as comparison, micaele8.
And the economic aftermath of the AmericanRevolution caused the societal/political situation to be a bit closer to the precipice than suggested. The new "nation" incurred ~$40 million in domestic debt, ~$12 million in foreign debts, and states' debts of ~$25 million -- ie ~63% of the annual GrossDomesticProduct -- to pay for the war, with no real powers to ensure repayment. Because the central government had an economic basis that was essentially not worth a continental and states were slow to repay, small creditors were starved for cash and forced to sell their bonds at a highly discounted price. This depletion of monetary capital triggered a depression in the mid-1780s which threatened farmers with property foreclosures and debtors' prison. Which in turn led to fear of mob violence, to the ShayRebellion -- and other legal&financial disagreements, often war debt related -- which finally induced the FoundingFathers to weld the new "nation" of separate states into a new nation.
A little bit less wisdom, a little less willingness to compromise, and the AmericanRevolution could have easily become as messy as the FrenchRevolution.
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