- in the name of Allah -


Came across this piece of an article from CNN.com, talking about the war in Iraq:

"[CNN Analyst Peter] Bergen says it is imperative that the United States not let that [i.e. what happened in Afghanistan] happen in Iraq.

'What we must prevent is central/western Iraq [from] becoming a Sunni militant state that threatens our interests directly as an international terror hub,' he said."

- (source located here)

Imagine if the wording were rephrased to something a bit less dogmatic, less polar, less blatant. Something like: "What we can't allow is a state whose interests are contrary to our own to come into existence; allowing people who's views differ from our own to have a place from which to rise up and rebel and 'fight for what they believe in' would be too damaging to risk."

I'm given pause to wonder: what happened during the American Revolution? Did we break away from a pre-existing empire or did a random group of people get together and decide to build a nation? What forces were necessary for America to come into being? If we can agree that the nature of this impetus was a need for something to call one's own, for a place unclouded by the feeling of oppression and injustice, then why is it so ironic, that if it is such a state the founders of America achieved, we should be the ones to prevent others from finding and founding the like anywhere and everywhere else in the world?