Karl Rove is being quoted as saying: "Perhaps the most important difference between conservatives and liberals can be found in the area of national security. Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared for war; liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers."
This statement makes a lot of people angry, but Karl's famous for being perceptive. Let's use hindsight to look at what he said.
"War." Those who prepared for war certainly got what they prepared for. War. We don't see signs of increased national security as a result. Instead we see exponential increase in desperate people who are prone to become terrorists, increased terrorist organizations, and a highly efficient training ground (Iraq urban battlefields).
"Understanding." One of the clearest bits of hindsight for all of us is the fact that our understanding of the Middle East was lacking. Our leadership's understanding, especally of Iraq, has proved to have been tragically, disastrously wrong. Can anyone argue against the need for more understanding?
"Prepare indictments." According to news reports, indictments and legal proceedings by world police and governments have brought many terrorists and their organizations to justice, far more than those apprehended by military means.
And "therapy." Therapy. Interesting concept. In Iraq, pouring money into military strength, though it has cost over $170,000,000,000 and used many, many thousands of people (including 1734 Americans who gave their lives), has not been able to prevail.
Suppose we had used "therapy?" Suppose our response to 9/11 had been to spend $170,000,000,000 dollars and set many thousands of people to use our knowledge of healing, peacemaking, community improvement, education, economics, global interaction to eliminate or reduce the indignities that have produced the last 30 years of tragedy and suffering on both sides?
Nothing like that has ever been attempted in the history of the world. But we, in the USA, do have the power.
When will we humans learn to put our strength behind our true strengths?
