• Latest

Max’s View

March 14, 2016
African Queen (1951)

Exodus (1960)

March 21, 2023
Just Some Thoughts

“Don’t Worry”

March 21, 2023
Job Training Well Done

Job Training Well Done

March 21, 2023

ACLU, Partners Call on Legislators to Oppose Plans for Prison Expansion

March 21, 2023

Conservation Supports New Farm In Central Vermont

March 21, 2023

Vermont Hunter Education Courses

March 15, 2023

Vermont Philharmonic and Green Mountain Youth Symphony Present “Awakenings: Music of Young Composers”

March 15, 2023

Central Vermont Council on Aging (CVCOA) Joins in Month-Long March for Meals Celebration with Communities Nationwide

March 15, 2023
African Queen (1951)

Divorce, Italian Style (1961)

March 15, 2023

Following Successful Public Pressure Campaign to Lower the Cost of Eli Lilly’s Insulin, Sanders and Bush Introduce Bill to Finish the Job and Cap the Price at $20 Per Vial

March 15, 2023
Udderly Crazy 4-H Club Members Take Part In 4-H Dairy Quiz Bowl

Udderly Crazy 4-H Club Members Take Part In 4-H Dairy Quiz Bowl

March 7, 2023
Hunger Free Vermont Receives $36,090 Nourishing Neighbors Grant from Shaw’s Foundation’s Nourishing Neighbor Campaign

Hunger Free Vermont Receives $36,090 Nourishing Neighbors Grant from Shaw’s Foundation’s Nourishing Neighbor Campaign

March 7, 2023
  • Home
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • Sitemap
Sunday, March 26, 2023
The World Online
Advertisement
  • Home
  • News & Features
    • Local News
    • Letters & opinions
    • George Shuman
    • Max’s View
    • Local Sports & Outdoors
    • Births
  • Calendar
    • Art Exhibits
    • Calendar of Events
    • Ongoing Events
  • Obituaries
  • Submit
    • Submit Calendar Listing for Non-Profit Events
    • Submit An Article To The World
    • Submit Letter To The Editor
    • Submit Sports News/Photo
    • Submit Birth Announcement
    • Submit Engagement Announcement
    • Submit Wedding Announcement
  • Advertising
    • World Rates and Ad Sizes
    • World Distribution Map
    • World Deadlines
    • Audit and Reader Surveys
    • Advertising Inquiry
  • Classifieds
    • Place Classified Ads
    • View Current Classifieds
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News & Features
    • Local News
    • Letters & opinions
    • George Shuman
    • Max’s View
    • Local Sports & Outdoors
    • Births
  • Calendar
    • Art Exhibits
    • Calendar of Events
    • Ongoing Events
  • Obituaries
  • Submit
    • Submit Calendar Listing for Non-Profit Events
    • Submit An Article To The World
    • Submit Letter To The Editor
    • Submit Sports News/Photo
    • Submit Birth Announcement
    • Submit Engagement Announcement
    • Submit Wedding Announcement
  • Advertising
    • World Rates and Ad Sizes
    • World Distribution Map
    • World Deadlines
    • Audit and Reader Surveys
    • Advertising Inquiry
  • Classifieds
    • Place Classified Ads
    • View Current Classifieds
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
The World Online
No Result
View All Result

Max’s View

vt-world by vt-world
March 14, 2016
in Max's View
0

Bhutto
***1/2
The political issue I care about most is peace. It’s no fun, because the entire American establishment is essentially pro-war.

I’ve given up trying to argue against war and intervention from the pacifist perspective.

I may be the only pacifist that I’ve ever known. Most of us worship a deity who commands us to love our enemy as our friend. But instead of loving their enemies in foreign lands, most Americans are just as happy to hire poor teenagers to shoot or drop bombs on them.

I’ve given up trying to argue against war and intervention from the perspective of respecting other countries’ sovereignty.

When a small band of evil terrorists perpetrated 9/11, Americans were ready to accept the faulty conclusion that this was an act of war. And, in turn, most of us were willing to support an invasion, regime change, or drone strike in any country inhabited by people who share the same faith as the terrorists. Apparently, the American border is sacrosanct while every other countries’ borders are just meaningless lines on a map.

Finally, thanks to the two political outsiders running for President this year, there are a few people in the public eye who are speaking forcefully against imperialism. And we in the anti-war crowd finally have an argument that seems to be resonating with voters.

We should think twice before forcefully intervening in other countries’ affairs…because we are terrible at it!

It seems like every country that we try to control ends up worse off than we when intervened.

Pakistan is a good example. The documentary “Bhutto” explores the hideous unintended consequences of American intervention in Pakistan from the perspective of the great and tragic Bhutto family.

Our failure began in the mid-1970s, when the Kissinger State Department pushed democratically elected Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto out of power in favor of a military dictator who promised to discontinue Bhutto’s nuclear program. A few years later, Bhutto was hanged and Pakistan had H-Bombs, anyway.

We messed up even bigger in the 1980s in response to the USSR’s invasion of Afghanistan. In an effort to thwart Communist expansion at all cost, we worked with the Pakistani government to arm and empower as many Muslim freedom fighters as we could find. Many of them were jihadists. One of them was Osama Bin-Laden.

After the Soviets had been driven out, the jihadists turned their anger and American-bought weapons at their own West-friendly government – and at the West itself.

After 9/11, Pakistani President Musharraf bamboozled the US government into believing that he was the only thing standing in the way of a terrorist regime taking over Pakistan. Once again, we backed the wrong guy. After he gladly shook hands with George W. Bush in Washington, Musharraf flew home with a fat wad of American money and made secret deals with Al-Qaeda.

The Musharraf government failed to protect former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto (a pro-democracy religious moderate) when she triumphantly returned from exile in 2007. She was shot to death less than a week after she came home and then the government promptly fire-hosed the crime scene to ensure that the terrorist assassins would never be caught.

I’ve lived long enough as a pacifist to know that I won’t be able to convince you to totally turn against war and imperialist meddling. However, next time your government is arguing that it’s a good idea to intervene in the affairs of a foreign country, remember: they’re idiots. And they will probably make things worse.

Previous Post

Governor Doesn’t Walk The Walk

Next Post

Reiss’s Pieces

Next Post

Reiss’s Pieces

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This Week’s Ads

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • Sitemap
The World
403 US Route 302
Barre, VT 05641
Phone: (802) 479-2582

Copyright © 2019 The World Online. All Rights Reserved. Powered by CoolerAds.

No Result
View All Result
  • Art Exhibits
  • Audit and Reader Surveys
  • Births
  • Calendar
  • Contact Us
  • Daily Horoscope
  • Fall Guide
  • Food & Recipe
  • Home
  • Obituaries
  • Ongoing Events
  • Pay Your Bill Here
  • Senior Living Edition
  • Showtimes
  • Submit Birth Announcement
  • Submit Calendar Listing for Non-Profit Events
  • Submit Engagement Announcement
  • Submit Listing to our Local Directory
  • Submit Sports News/Photo
  • Submit Wedding Announcement
  • Testimonials
  • The World Coupons
  • Weather Forecast
  • World Deadlines
  • World Distribution Map
  • World Rate Card
  • World Rates and Ad Sizes
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • Sitemap
  • About Us
  • Vermont Lottery
  • Advertising Information
  • The World Staff
  • Advertising Inquiry
  • Submit Letter To The Editor
  • Local Directory
  • Poll Results
  • Local Deals
  • Classifieds
  • Submit An Article To The World
  • Events
  • The World – This Week’s Online Digital Edition
  • The World Auto & Sports

Copyright © 2019 The World Online. All Rights Reserved. Powered by CoolerAds.

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In