Communism was not a bogey

Submitted by Prashant (United States), Oct 24, 2011 at 00:05

Dear Dr Pipes:

Your reader Car313 does two wrong things. First, he states that Communism was a bogey created by the US and was not a real threat. Second, he draws a parallel between Communism and Islamism and attempts to indicate that Islamism is also an American bogey.

Car313 cannot be more wrong. Car313 is a sympathizer of Islamists. So even if he does not understand any other world issues, he will understand the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1970s. The communist Russia certainly was a threat to Afghanistan. In Afghanistan United States supported a real war against a real communist enemy of Muslims. So Communism was not a bogey. It was a real threat. Communism can be held responsible for poverty, subjugation and lack-of-freedom in huge parts of Asia, Africa, and of east Europe. If Car313 is honest, he must credit America for recognizing the communist threat years before others did.

Car is wrong on his second implication as well. He says that Islamism is also a bogey. Most Islamic countries (and societies) seriously lack the freedom of thought, belief and action. They also lack democratic methods of government and they lack separation of church and state. And, Islam certainly has global ambitions (do I need to cite examples?). If Islam was a pure religion to be followed in the privacy of peoples homes, no one will object to it. But it is followed on the streets and it is a socio-political system. So people need to critically examine it. And, if wrong, oppose it. In that sense, it is not a bogey either.

On the other hand, Car313 has created a bogey of his own. He has implied that there is a military-industrial-complex (MIC) in the US that wants to create enemies where there are none. Car313 should examine the US economy more carefully. Like every other country of the world energy and oil companies are important to the US economy and they are big. But technology, consumer goods, and finance companies control a huge chunk of the US economy. A lot of wars in human history have been fought due to economic issues. US also has been responsible for selfishly safeguarding her economic interests. But saying that MIC in the US is responsible for creating enemies when there are none, is stretching the truth to the extreme. No MIC in the US can force Somalis to fight with each other. And, if the Talebans want to live with Al-Qaedas with brotherly love, no MIC can force them to fight. Pointing to a phantom enemy when their own house is in disorder the most hyporitical thing that Islamists can do.

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