Cultural manifest destiny is a dangerous and costly ideology. Neo-conservatives in the Bush administration feel America has a divine duty to change other nations into carbon copies of ours. They believe that forcefully rewiring the Middle East will short-circuit terrorism and make the region stable and pro-American. Such visions drive an Iraq war that has already cost taxpayers more than $100 billion and, most tragically, has killed more than 1,000 Americans and upwards of 10,000 Iraqis. Force of arms cannot reshape the world in our image. Our fellow humans have unique cultural and historical backgrounds and are not inert pieces on a global chessboard. People must change of their own accord. When coerced into doing something, they will resist and retaliate with a vengeance. This fatal flaw of a neo-conservative foreign policy has been displayed time and time again in Iraq.
When the desire for change comes from within, it's an unstoppable force. This is why the vaunted Soviet Bloc militaries and intelligence services were powerless to stop the wave of democracy that swept through Eastern Europe in 1989. America did not have to invade to foment change. Instead, millions of Lithuanians, Poles, Czechs, Romanians, Bulgarians, Hungarians and Germans took to the streets and toppled the dictators who had brutalized them for the previous 40 years. In a similar fashion, many brave Iraqis now risk life and limb to build a democratic country, but it has become painfully obvious that a large segment of their countrymen do not share their dreams. The spate of bloody attacks on Iraq's police and army trainees graphically illustrates this fact.
Toppling a dictator without comprehensive forethought is a recipe for disaster. Iraq has been forced into taking a huge leap into the abyss. Removing Saddam created a massive political power vacuum that is being filled by the most violent and ruthless elements of Iraqi society. This bodes poorly for the future. The country appears to be descending into civil war. Iraqis are united against the American presence now, but once our troops leave, or perhaps even sooner, factions within the country will fight in the same way that Afghanistan's mujahideen turned their guns on each other once the Soviets withdrew in 1989. The vicious civil wars of Afghanistan, Lebanon and Bosnia are terrifying snapshots of what Iraq is likely to become if things continue on their present course.
Yet an Iraqi civil war would be even worse. The industrialized world simply cannot afford a conflict in the world's energy heartland. Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia would not stay on the sidelines. Turkey would stop at nothing to prevent the emergence of an independent Kurdistan. Iran would fund Shiite groups while Saudi Arabia would fund Sunni fighters. As hard as peacekeeping and rebuilding are in today's Iraq, imagine the difficulties and costs of trying to put down a full-blown civil war where fighters from Iraq and the wider Islamic world are being manipulated by three self-interested neighbors, one of whom will soon have nuclear weapons. Then try to imagine the global economic chaos that ensues when oil hits $90 a barrel.
America is unique and so is Iraq (and every other country in the world, for that matter!) Forcefully ousting foreign governments is not an effective way to fight terrorism because change must come from within. Washington should energetically support free trade and rule of law. These values would strengthen virtually all nations. Our might comes from strong international economic and political bonds. If America is to retain its power, we should lay to rest the neo-conservative idea that we must reshape other nations in our image.
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