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The Stephen S. Wise Temple in L.A. hosted an evening with Charles Krauthammer Thursday night, and he spoke brilliantly.
He pointed out that in the 90’s, the U.S. rescued three countries: Bosnia, Kosovo, and Kuwait. The notion that Desert Storm was “for oil” has been utterly debunked, because the U.S. did not take the Kuwaiti oil fields; the Kuwaitis retain control of that oil. We prevented a madman who had committed genocide, from stealing that wealth. This decade we have liberated 50 million people in Afghanistan and Iraq. What do those people have in common? They are Muslims.
He discussed that prior to the GWB administration, U.S. policy had erred in its dealings with the Arab world. Starting with Roosevelt, a policy of “Arab exceptionalism” was followed, in which the U.S. pursued democracy in Europe, Japan, Korea, the Phillipines, etc, but not in the Arab world, where we had a deal whereby the U.S. would receive oil, and in return would not seek to democratize that region. That policy was a disaster, because the despotic leaders of the Arab world oppressed their own people, and deflected their anger on America, creating a cauldron of hatred, leading to the terrorist actions we see today in Israel, in Europe, and on 9-11. The GWB administration understood that the solution is not only to kill the terrorists, but also to change the conditions which permit the despotic leaders of the Arab world to create 9-11 and Al Qaeda. And Iraq is the place where the administration decided we would make our stand and start to change those conditions. The result: free elections in Iraq, leading to movements for freedom throughout the Arab world.
There was much more. Every sentence was worth reading and quoting. I was told that in two weeks a CD will be available of the event.
