International Diplomacy For Idiots

Wow!
We extend our heart felt gratitude to the outpouring of concern from many of our readers wondering if all was well. Seems our absence from these pages has raised a few alarms. Have no fear all is well. Took a little hiatus from it as many of you may have noticed I was running out of things to say. Have kept very busy though so have no worries! You should check out the selection of sweet BMX refurbished we got now!
So... a moment whilst I step up on my soapbox.
When I become ruler of the world..
Well unless you have been living under a rock you are probably aware of the growing unrest and demonstration in the middle east in response to a very low quality film insulting the prophet Mohamed. In this the "Arab Spring " brought on in no small part with American assistance the traditional chants of "death to Americans" once again rings through the throngs of some of the more fanatical fringes. See, in short a culture that does not fully understand the true definition of freedom of speech and is use to governmental control cannot believe such a film would have been made without government approval. Well there's our pickle.
So here's my thoughts in the way of a "what if".
Say you have a friend that for all intents is a nice guy but has some issues. Family baggage. An unpredictable temper but has some benefits to offer. So when he gets in trouble you're there to help. If he needs some cash you pony it up. You figure you won't get it back but something keeps you keeping on not looking for gratitude but certainly not expecting that when someone in your neighborhood talks smack about him he turns on you because you live there. And rains all sorts of hell down on you to boot!
So what do you do with a friend like that?
Hmmm?
BAIL!
Look with all due respect to humanitarian assistance and such we all know why we're REALLY hanging out there. But in all honesty, and not to toot our collective horn but America IS the Worlds only Super Power (although we must give props to the quickly gaining China) and we do consume somewheres around 45% of all the worlds oil. So even if we are not camping out in their yard, I think they'll still sell us all we can swallow. Granted , in the past our interest (and need) to be there was quite cynically because the dictators and despots that ruled the roosts were put there by us and we needed to keep 'em on a leash (to a point). Simply put, these guys kept the population suppressed so they wouldn't realize "hey! We got a heck of allot a money here! Wheres our cut?"
Enter Arab Spring.
In all the chaos brought on by the ill-conceived 14 minute trailer on you tube (that in truth I, and most the people protesting HAVE NOT seen) one has to keep in mind that the MAJORITY of natives DO NOT agree with the negative violent aggression. But we have to realize there is allot of underlying wariness towards the West. And as much as most of them want a Democracy, it is going to have to be THEIR democracy. One that fits their ideal sets, their beliefs and moral code. We cannot expect them to adhere to a western form of freedom. So I suggest we pull back. I mean in Iraq alone we have some 14,000 delegation staff there alone. I'm not going to do the math but in payroll alone? How much could that cash help HERE! Give the troops their marching orders and bring 'em all home. Board up the embassy windows, put out a "Gone Fishing" sign and take a powder. Let them have their room to make choices, make mistakes and move forward without our intervention. Also as a side line? All that money in subsidies we send, all the weaponry we provide to our allies in the region? Keep it all in escrow. Tell 'em once they get their mutual trials and tribulation, in fighting and territorial disputes all worked out FOR GOOD, we'll put 'em back on the payroll.
It's called leverage!
Lets deal with our own problems for awhile. And just to squelch any doom sayers about Jihads or terrorists attacks on our soil for this mindset, 9/11 happened BECAUSE WE ARE OVER THERE! Not because they "hate our freedom, our way of life" to quote the Texas village idiot.
Not to sound to condescending but one thing I have learned as a parent is that you can only tell your kids NOT to do something so many times, eventually you just got to pull back, give them room and let them stand or fall on their own.
I do have faith that such a assembly of vibrant ancient cultures will make it on their own.