Sorry, we made a mistake
That response would not work here in the United States so why do
we try to pawn this sad excuse onto others when we accidentally kill
innocent civilians and refer to them as collateral damage. In an
attempt to make ourselves look good and feel better the federal
government sometimes offers money as a payoff to the survivors.
And some people wonder why we are viewed so disdainfully in many
foreign countries.
I have a hard time understanding why so many
individuals in this country don’t get it and want to fix the
blame on others when it comes to the hatred expressed against U.S.
We drop bombs that kill and disfigure innocent bystanders, then
callously call the people collateral damage. I don’t know about
you, but if somebody killed one of my kids and then came around and
told me sorry, we made a mistake, I would be furious, and my guess is
that some others would be also. If this was a reoccurring situation
where someone was killing and maiming friends, family and neighbors,
fighting back would seem logical to me.
This country was founded because of the tyranny inflicted by
outsiders onto the colonists. Because a leader in foreign land sent
troops to enforce his will onto people thousands of miles away. Does
any of this sound vaguely familiar?
When Saddam Hussein had his troops fighting the Iranians in the 1980’s did anyone in this country really care?
Sadly we (the United States) helped keep the Shah of Iran in
power, and helped in the training of his special
police in their torturous ways. Why would the people of Iran be upset
with us? Maybe some of their relatives were beaten, maimed or killed by
a tyrant the United States helped put and keep in place.
Sadly we (the United States) helped put Saddam Hussein in power and so long as he was doing this country’s
dirty work life was good. Unfortunately for him, he stepped way out of
line when Kuwait was attacked and never recovered his special status
with the United States. Did anyone really care when he used gas on his
own subjects? Not really, they were in the wrong place at the wrong
time, they were just collateral damage.
There were no Iranian hijackers on the jets on Sept. 11, 2001,
but there were Saudi Arabians. Osama Bin Laden was from the house of
Saud and was allied with the the Majahadeen who recieved funding from the CIA and were
fighting the Russians in Afghanistan in the 1980’s and 90‘s.
We have had a large number of strange alliances in the past,
remember Manuel Noreiga of Panama, or Marcos of the Philippines, or
Pinochet of Argentina, regrettably these individuals are just a small
listing of the nefarious despots that we “the United
States” have backed in the past, with serious collateral damage.
When potentates are doing the will of our government we tend to
overlook their proclivities to harm the citizens of their
fiefdoms. There was a time long, long ago that we the people of
the United
States were looked upon as the good guys, when Democracy was studied,
learned and exported.
While it is a noble goal of President Bush; “It is the policy of the United
States to seek and support democratic movements and institutions in
every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in
our world.” attempting to bomb nations into submission is
probably not going to work: if for no other reason then, those, who are
relatives of collateral damage, (innocent bystanders), sometimes can
and will be furious.
Democracy like Christianity, must to be something
individuals and nations want. It can not be forced onto people,
and it works better when taught by individuals or nations that are not
viewed as being hypocrites or the enemy. Instead of bombing individuals into
submission or whacking people with a Bible to enforce our view, maybe
we should try explaining our position and letting people decide.
Maybe someday we will get our act together and stop trying to dictate
policy to the rest of the world maybe we can regain some respect,
because even when the United States accidentally kills or maims
innocent people, saying sorry, we made a mistake, just doesn’t
cut it.
To those who just don’t get it, look at the furor that has
been raised over the death of Pat Tillman, who was killed accidentally
by friendly fire.
Chuck Jackson
Editor
scaryreality.com