“Addressing Liberty Across a Troubled Region” January 2007

After watching President Bush’s new strategy in Iraq, I realized that nothing new was being said, but when I read the text one paragraph stood out for me.

“The challenge playing out across the broader Middle East is more than a military conflict. It is the decisive ideological struggle of our time. On one side are those who believe in freedom and moderation. On the other side are extremists who kill the innocent, and have declared their intention to destroy our way of life. In the long run, the most realistic way to protect the American people is to provide a hopeful alternative to the hateful ideology of the enemy – by advancing liberty across a troubled region.”

There’s a hint of the Crusades of the Middle Ages in this paragraph. President Bush did not say a troubled country; he used “troubled region”. He is working toward a broader advancement in the area to spread our liberty and freedom.

The United States consists of five percent of the world population though we use twenty-five percent of the world’s resources. I always assumed that is because of all our freedom and liberty, but then the president spoke of freedom and moderation. Where does the word moderation fall into our way of life? The extremists kill innocent people and want to destroy our way of life. The United States kills innocent people, and when was it ever stated that extremists want to destroy our way of life?

There’s something missing in all this war mongering. I’d call it diplomacy, and a matter of fact the Baker-Hamilton report suggested that too. If our freedoms and liberties are so valuable then other countries would want to be like us. We wouldn’t have to invade their countries. Kill’em with kindness like a good Christian country should do. If the United States were invaded, I can assure you that we would all fight against the invaders.

As the president was addressing the country there were two events occurring. The United States invaded the Iran consulate in the Kurdish area of Iraq, which is considered an act of war, and oil companies are diversifying the vast oil supplies of Iraq.

This does not sound like the United States is bringing freedom and liberty to others. The reason for the United States wants to be a thorn in the side of the Middle East is based on greed, and the Middle East is suppressing that freedom.

I only wish that the president would be honest about our involvement in the Middle East. Just say it – Our freedoms and liberties depend on capturing the oil supplies in the world.

Jake Drew

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