Red Dawn (Yes, The Movie) & Iraq

[Tom Odom]

I've tried to make a related argument to explain Iraq. People will say, "But we've built X number of schools and Y number of clinics..."

I reply: Imagine that somehow AQ was able to take over the United States and begin transforming it into an Islamic state. If they fixed the potholes in our roads and improved our schools, would that make it acceptable?

It's so difficult for anyone, especially Americans, to see themselves through the eyes of others.

Amen, Steve!

Thanks for posting on here of late. For the greater audience, in a time long ago (the mid-80s) Steve was kind enough to serve as a reader on CPT Odom's research paper on the 1964 Congo Crisis.

The analogy to AQ in America fixing potholes is on the mark. I had a flashback yesterday (hearing about the bridge bombings in Iraq) concerning Egyptians trying to undertand Americans; when my former wife was AID in Egypt I used to routinely talk to the various Egyptians she sent to the US for courses and lesser boondoggles. The standard tour always included Disney World because if she didn't include it, the Egyptians filed a complaint. They just really had a thing for Mickey Mouse, I guess. But one question they always asked stuck with me: "how come you don't guard your bridges?" The issue sounds silly but consider as a culture built around the Nile, bridges are a both a rarity and a treasure. They were always shocked that so many bridges existed and that we did not guard them.

Best regards

Tom

[SteveMetz]

Amen, Steve!

Thanks for posting on here of late. For the greater audience, in a time long ago (the mid-80s) Steve was kind enough to serve as a reader on CPT Odom's research paper on the 1964 Congo Crisis.

"On 24 November 1964, dawn broke at its usual time over the central African city of Stanleyville. The routine sunrise, however, did not presage another typical day for the old colonial trade center..."

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