69 million page views

Do Allies Cheat or Kill Friends?

Reader comment on item: Innocents Abroad Build Foreign Armies
in response to reader comment: Fundamentalist Islam as America's strategic ally

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?

.

Submitting....

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".

Submit a comment on this item

Reader comments (27) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
Babes in the woods......... [60 words]Kenneth Duke MastersMar 8, 2013 14:38204126
naive policy [30 words]Fred SchwartzFeb 15, 2013 17:36203538
7More on Major Nidal [123 words]Mark WerfelFeb 14, 2013 08:30203496
The plan all along [188 words]DEBORAH THE JUDGEFeb 13, 2013 18:45203471
1Innocents Abroad Build Foreign Armies [12 words]SOLFeb 13, 2013 10:32203450
Ben Franklin was the last... [151 words]DmitryFeb 13, 2013 09:59203449
Mark Twain Nodding In Agreement. [40 words]Charles GriffithFeb 13, 2013 04:30203442
1Corporate profits from training [65 words]Richard WeissmanFeb 12, 2013 22:59203434
TRAINING YOUR ENEMIES [122 words]JACQUES HADIDAFeb 14, 2013 19:48203434
12Tell me, who is surprised? [277 words]Mark WerfelFeb 12, 2013 20:17203432
2Fundamentalist Islam as America's strategic ally [142 words]IanusFeb 14, 2013 02:38203432
2The War on Terror [29 words]Howard MarksFeb 14, 2013 21:56203432
4Do Allies Cheat or Kill Friends? [419 words]Mark WerfelFeb 15, 2013 00:08203432
2"Who can we trust, in the end? Who is telling us the truth?" - Two most fundamental questions [236 words]IanusFeb 16, 2013 05:08203432
OPEC oil imports into US declining [132 words]Howard MarksFeb 19, 2013 09:24203432
And we PAY these people [25 words]EthanPFeb 12, 2013 19:33203430
3No insanity , a method [149 words]IanusFeb 14, 2013 03:21203430
Don't forget Iraq, Dr. Pipes. [88 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Aymenn Jawad Al-TamimiFeb 11, 2013 13:55203404
That's only half the story [65 words]BJFeb 13, 2013 20:38203404
1The Soviets were not the same. [141 words]IanusFeb 14, 2013 02:51203404
2Here's why America doesn't create stability [260 words]Kepha HorFeb 17, 2013 09:01203404
3Chaos as the new US strategy and "Reflections on the overthrow of communism" [414 words]IanusFeb 18, 2013 08:04203404
As an American, I only wish... [262 words]Kepha HorFeb 20, 2013 21:13203404
To Ianus on America and Chaos theory [567 words]Peter HerzFeb 20, 2013 21:47203404
2Uncle Sam and Uncle Saud [1147 words]IanusFeb 22, 2013 07:15203404
2The apostle of chaos [2666 words]IanusFeb 24, 2013 15:42203404
4policing home and abroad [91 words]mythFeb 11, 2013 11:11203402

Follow Daniel Pipes

Facebook   Twitter   RSS   Join Mailing List

All materials by Daniel Pipes on this site: © 1968-2024 Daniel Pipes. daniel.pipes@gmail.com and @DanielPipes

Support Daniel Pipes' work with a tax-deductible donation to the Middle East Forum.Daniel J. Pipes

(The MEF is a publicly supported, nonprofit organization under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code.

Contributions are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law. Tax-ID 23-774-9796, approved Apr. 27, 1998.

For more information, view our IRS letter of determination.)