Afghanistan and Iraq are no win situations

Here we go again! America is running true to form, fixing some other country’s business for them just as we always do. We mean well, but will wind up in the wrong as usual. Will Rogers, June 22, 1931.

Will Rogers was the 1920’s and 1930’s equivalent of Jay Leno.

The situation in Afghanistan and Iraq is set up to become a lose, lose result for the U.S.. We just can’t imagine that everyone on earth won’t see our standards and values as being the best way to live and govern.

We don’t understand the tribal nature of some societies because we’re not tribal and, “ look at how good it has worked out for us.” Although the differences between conservatives and progressives sure looks like a tribal fight sometimes.

We will stay in these two countries until someone decides it’s time for us to go. Then, after we leave the tribal and religious conflicts will flare up and for one group in the U.S. that will be interpreted as “We lost” because we left without a resolution of the problem.

We’ll stay there too long because leaving will look like running away and when the decision is finally made to leave we’ll do it so quickly it’ll look like confirmation of our running away.

This situation is a no win situation for whoever is in charge of our government.

The liberal position is that everyone will eventually accept “our” way of doing things because it makes so much sense.

The conservative stand is that if they won’t do as we want, we’ll keep hurting them until they agree to accept our values.

Neither will work in a situation where people are willing to sacrifice themselves to ensure their tribal or religious values will prevail.

We consider this a backward way of looking at life. Is it any more backward the our rigid belief that only we know the right way? That our culture is the only way?

Taking a neutral position (if that’s possible) do our talking head pundits seem any more reasoned and rational than the tribal and religious spokesmen of Iraq and Afghanistan? Are their diatribes not just a non physical extension of what we see in the middle east?

There’s no wrap up on this only that whoever is in charge when the house of cards comes tumbling down will be seen as the loser.