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