Posted by Julia from bootp245174.medill.northwestern.edu (129.105.245.174) on Wednesday, February 27, 2002 at 5:23PM :
In Reply to: Smashing Pumpkins posted by pancho from ? (64.79.4.2) on Wednesday, February 27, 2002 at 4:21PM :
easy there....
I am not arguing "helping everyone or helping no one." I am pointing out that we are helping those who are like us, and I am saying that this kind of thinking manifests in many levels of policymaking. these two points are observations and not arguments.
People have found it natural to preserve their identity or extensions of themselves. That's why earth becomes 'sacred,' mere soil and trees and grass become more than just parts of an ecosystem; it becomes extensions of ourselves, as indicated in David Chibo's post.
In raising this whole issue, I am saying that the U.S. and other states form policies that are not according to some objective standard of justice but according to what ultimately falls in line of what they perceive as advantageous to their interests. Jeff mentioned earlier, for whose interests? John q. Public? Businessmen? The interests that the U.S. defends are variegated and many, and they are formulated by top CEOs, lobbyists, advocacy groups, think tanks, etc. And, in the case of Iraq, the current U.S. policy that accords with the defense department, the executive branch, parts of the legislative branch...'s interest is a strategy of deterrence, saying to Saddam we will keep you at bay by cutting economic ties to your country, and if you do something we will do something even greater and more painful.
(This is not to say that the u.s. department's stragegy and policy of deterrence is the preferred strategy of all americans...)
In principle, the U.S.' foreign policy towards Iraq was designed and is implemented because it fits the interests of the U.S. defense department, NSA, and other acronyms i can't think of. In principle and not in detail they are doing exactly what we are doing; they are doing things that benefit themselves, and we essentially are working for benefits that we can realize for our own people.
I am against sanctions, and I do not support helping everyone or helping no one. I am not advancing that ultimatum. I am simply saying that when we decide to help our own, we are operating on a principle that the U.S. is also operating on. Clearly, the U.S. didn't unilaterally push for sanctions before there was a saddam right? Only when Iraq was perceived as a threat to the preservation of the U.S.' interest is when the U.S. pushed for sanctions on Iraq.
-- Julia
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