Do Allies Cheat or Kill Friends?

Submitted by Mark Werfel (United States), Feb 15, 2013 at 00:08

Given the Arab states purchased Warsaw Pact weaponry for decades after WW2, I'd disagree about a friendship or strategic alliance. The USA made a deal with the devil upon accepting OPEC, getting oil funds spent there returned by selling our weaponry to these. Yes, Arab military arguably might be available if and when conformed to our interests. That's how mistakes are made, and souls are lost. We see how savvy we are, the point of the Pipes the article. We see how clear the reality is, the point of my comment and references to the war of centuries ago and to the decades-long war today.

While those nations seemed to be led by secular leaders; we knew there were theocratic forces kept on a leash until the Shah was driven from Iran. Then, while the USA became known to be duplicitous concerning the deposing of Mossadeq while proclaiming democratic values; it is also true that, as Robert Dreyfus states, Communism was more the natural enemy of religious Islam. These are knotty thoughts.

The clear thought is that, in 1980, the US Embassy in Tehran was seized, as were our people there. Their motivation was religiously and nationalistically focused, and then trans-nationalistically and fundamentally religiously exported world-wide. For the next 30 years, we've been attacked by them time and again; and they clearly demonstrate a fundamentalist Islamic pulse. Yeah, the Afghanis showed the Soviets how to lose (with our help), but they then gave us the same medicine. But why are we surprised? Arab Spring? Democratic Iraq? Opium-free and freedom-loving Afghanistan?

How did we strategically defeat the Soviets? "It's the economy stupid," was Bill Clinton's phrase; but Ronald Reagan made it work. The Soviets paled beside our economic power, and were bankrupted (faster) by the power of a Star Wars defense and their inability to circumvent it -- even when they didn't really believe it was real. When Eastern Europe saw political and economic realities that exposed Soviet hypocrisy, the Wall crumbled.

Sending our money to OPEC weakens our economic, political and social strength; playing patti-cake with Dark Ages leaders who oppose freedom, women, etc obviously corrupts us (and Europe) when we do so. Who led us into the dark/why and who will lead us out/how? How to characterize those who did so before and those who may BEGIN to reverse the path now? We can't trust our enemy, which presents itself as a superficial friend. Who can we trust, in the end? Who is telling us the truth?

.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".