Guest post: The irony of conservative support for the big-government program known as ‘democracy building’
Mark Jurkevich
Note from Dan: Here’s the latest dispatch from my old pal Mark Jurkevich, an international businessman and holder of numerous telecommunications-industry patents.
By Mark Jurkevich
Here we go again – the ritualistic drumbeat is reaching a frenzied finale preparing Americans for a U.S. supported bloody over-throw of a sovereign state’s government in the name of spreading democracy; this time, Assad in Syria.
The Left and the Right are in a testosterone driven race to lead the charge; Secretary of State Clinton at the “Friends of Syria” conference in Tunisia declared the Assad government illegitimate, while Republican leadership demands “safe passage corridors” for rebels. Since Assad is not using jets, they can’t call it a no-fly zone.
Over the last fifteen years Americans have been conditioned by this ritual – a long standing sovereign state government starts being referred to as a “regime”, we are told it’s undemocratic, the “freedom loving” opposition is suddenly armed to the teeth, then, after much bloodshed and expenditure of U.S. treasure, the sovereign government is toppled. Inevitably, the fruits of this ritual are – well, like most big government programs – a costly mess with a myriad of undesired consequences.
Democracy Building is indeed a big government program. The total estimated costs of the Iraq and Afghanistan projects are $4 trillion dollars according to a Brown University study. Add in the other half dozen “democracy projects” costs during this time, and it’s enough to solve the U.S. debt crisis. The usual big program waste and fraud are well documented for these projects. They also have a 100% failure rate for replacing a tyrant with a peace-loving democratic government.
Given the enthusiastic support for the Democracy Building Program by the GOP conservative wing, the Tea Party and evangelical Christians, one can only conclude that they believe their core unifying value of shrinking big government programs stops at the U.S. border. Yet, these democracy projects, wars of choice, are more wasteful and ineffective than the big domestic programs conservatives want to cut. There is also a side effect of these projects that should be of particular concern to the evangelicals – they have consistently caused the destruction of ancient Christian communities.
The program’s track record to date includes:
Kosovo. U.S. involvement to remove the bad guy, Slobodan Milosevic, began in 1999 with bombing of Serbia, including Kosovo. Kosovo, the historic cradle of western Slav Christianity, continues to be a ward of NATO and its installed KLA run government. KLA was designated an Islamic terrorist organization by U.S., France and UK until 1998. The Christian population has been largely removed, now only 10% of total population. Hundreds of ancient churches and monasteries have been systematically destroyed on KLA’s watch.
Palestine. From 2001 the U.S. and Israel implemented a regime change strategy, including systematic physical destruction of governmental infrastructure, to replace bad guy Yasser Arafat with a democratically elected government. In 2006, the U.S. got its wish. Elections were held. The Islamist Hamas was elected, with a platform promising the destruction of Israel and allegiance to Iran. Clearly, no friend to Christians. By contrast the secular Arafat traditionally attended Christmas Mass in Bethlehem, until Israel prohibited him. Since the regime change, there has been one war with Israel and the peace talks are moribund.
Iraq. This costly 2003 doozy promised democracy, replacing bad guy Saddam Hussein, a secular leader, whose right hand man, Tariq Aziz, was a Christian. Today, Iraq is in an unstable simmering civil war. Oh, and the new local powers are decimating the Christian population, cutting it in half since 2003, when it was over 5%.
Egypt. The 2010 regime change was to bring democracy, replacing bad guy Hosni Mubarak, a secular leader. The Muslim Brotherhood, accused last year by the FBI Director of supporting terrorism in the U.S. and abroad, is now in control. Ever since, the ancient Christian community making up 11% of the population has been under assault, its members murdered and churches burned.
Libya. The 2011 regime change was to bring democracy, replacing bad guy Muammar Gaddafi, who notably was a great champion of women’s rights and known for leaving the Christian community in peace. Since his removal, Libya has devolved into tribal anarchy with atrocities reported daily.
Syria. And now the drum beats for regime change to bring democracy, replacing bad guy Bashar al-Assad. The Syrian Christian Community, 10% of total population, supports the secular Assad, and is predicting it will be decimated if the U.S. supported Islamic “freedom fighters” seize power.
The stated objective of these projects is to replace tyrannical governments in sovereign states with peaceful democratic ones. Clearly this big government program, Democracy Building, is a costly abject failure. It’s time for conservatives to begin fighting big government waste outside the U.S. borders with the same zeal that they display on the domestic front.
March 14, 2012 - 9:11 AM
Preaching to the choir. Do you find many Americans that disagree with this? What passes for a “conservative” today has nothing to do with being small government…maybe that’s the confusing part.
2. Our Nation adopted the belief in the lost decade of the 2,000s Neoconservatives that capitalism and democracy go hand in hand. In fact, through carrots and sticks we could make this happen worldwide. When carrots did not work, we resorted totally to sticks. We are now seeing our stick approach has not worked as China has stepped in using capitalism to buy what they want while ignoring dictatorships, democracy, and ethics. We have tried to bully our way to democracy and have found the world has rejected us. We must go back to treating the world with respect and begin by treating our own citizens with respect. The lost decade left an economy racked by greed that brought worldwide recession. We must continue to build on an economy that removes greed and places ethics at the center of the economic structure.
I am surprised that no one is commenting on the fact that in all these wars we start, we destroy the Christian communities that have been there forever and a day. Yet the evangelicals’ leadership is generally all for these wars. My own feeling is that most evangelical followers are not aware that they have been supporting wars that destroy Christian communities. It is a good cause to make them aware of this fact.
This has never been about “small government” nor even about efficiency and lower taxes, it has ALWAYS been about controlling people and imposing their brand of “root little pig or die” morality. They HATE the safety nets, Social Security, Medicare and anything that looks like it might help anyone not already rich. If Virginia is not a microcosm of that in action, I do not know what is. With ALL of the problems facing this state, what was the TP/GOP agenda in the legislature this session?
Name the conservative President who shrunk the size, scope or imperial tendencies of the office, the government or the nation. These people do not even remember their own leaders truthfully much less the Democrats that have been in office. Once the genie is out of the bottle, it is not going back in and this delusion of smaller government in an ever more complicated, expensive and yes morally dejected nation is just ludicrous fantasy…or as I like to call it, magical thinking.
Hating abortion while embracing bombing civilian villages still practically in the stone age is not Christian values. Fighting safety nets while spending money and treasure to secure oil fields and take over sovereign nations is not Conservative values. The right wing is ONLY about controlling people through either the force of the government or lack of any other choice (a la no safety nets). If you do not get that, you are not paying attention. Ignore the insults and lies and read Suzie and Lake Claytor’s posts. The agenda is plain as day.
#3, because no one seriously cares about that, certainly the Fundies don’t. And I personally don’t buy that the “Christian communities” we destroy and the lives we take there are any more valuable than any of the other communities and lives we demolish in the middle east, or anywhere else.
Why pretend there’s any religious motivation to drop bombs on people at all? The interests of the “Christians” pale in comparison to those of the so-called “free market”. We represent our economic interests.
All of your points seem logical. But none of you seem to grasp the point that the Christian far right in the U.S. is very much for these wars that are destroying Christian communities. Either they are not aware of this fact, or their position supporting the wars is a fundamental contradition of their core beliefs. Which is it – ignorance or a contradiction in fundamental core beliefs?
I wonder how many of the war supporting evangelical Christian block even know that the policy they support so much is destroying Christian communities. I suspect it is small. It would be worthy to make them aware.
I do love that rug hanging behind you in the picture.
It is a spectacular silk Persian rug that I bought in Lahore, Pakistan a few years ago. By the way, Lahore is a magical mystical place where so many cultures and religions lived side by side for almost a thousand years. The technology in the ancient forts and religious centers is amazing. Sadly, it is currently a bit too dangerous, even for my standards.
My old multilingual, very calculating and highly social pal Mark is quite intrepid, I’ll give him that. I think he was in Romania when its government fell (or was it Albania?) and he barely escaped by hijacking a taxi or something like that. I’ve never accused him of being some sort of undercover operative, but I’ve long wondered.
He’d be a great spy.
No thanks.
6. Markj – The Christian far right is so hung up on Israel and anti-Muslim or Arab, that causing the death of other Christians is collateral damage. The ministers tell them who to like, who to hate and how much to give in order to get to Heaven, that is all that matters.
Richard, I suspect you are correct about how the flock follows its pastors, and even about the pastors’ priorities. However, I believe the flock has no idea about the collatoral damage of these policies on the local Christian communities. And if they did find out, they might push back in a game changing way. History is full of examples of a misled or uninformed flock getting enlightened by some spark that causes them to sweep away their leaders and take a new direction.
Who knows, maybe we can trigger the “U.S. Bible Belt Spring of 2012″!
Markj – I have my doubts. The televangelists make too much money to allow their flock to stray to far from the message that is working for them. Capitalism in the Church retains power and fortune and has followed a strcit script for a long time. It would be nice to think that a change can be made, but looking at the attitudes on this blog and the press concerning say the Wall street protests, atrocities in Afghanistan and Iraq, I have my doubts about the ability of the right wing masses to step out from their comfort zone.
“Who knows, maybe we can trigger the “U.S. Bible Belt Spring of 2012″!”
Funny! And desirable, although Robertson in his dotage is finally getting to be entertaining. Hate to see him go at this point.
For these guys, spiritual interests take a waaayy backseat to their economic ones. Praise the Lord, but keep passing the ammunition.
“I have my doubts. The televangelists make too much money to allow their flock to stray to far from the message that is working for them.”
I’ll never forget watching an episode of Robert Tilton on television once. The speaking in tongues entertainment…sure, the selling, no make that giving of prayer cloths once you have made a donation….no, telling a desperate woman that giving her last $1,000 to his ministry as a “vow of faith” or “sowing a seed of faith” that she made the right decision in “vowing for transportation” rather than put that $1,000 toward the purchase of a car…..unconscionable.
Fundies
Fundies? That’s a bigoted slur and it needs to stop.
#16 Thanks, suze, I’ll be sure to use it whenever I can.
Rash Limpballs is a fundie.
#16 Thanks, suze, I’ll be sure to use it whenever I can.
Comment by gdad — March 15, 2012 @ 11:19 am
Rash Limpballs is a fundie.
Comment by Contrasuzie — March 16, 2012 @ 1:27 am
Looks like Gdad followed through on his promise of bigotry. 1:27 a.m., huh? My, what an ambitious individual.
#19 Nope, my post was at 11:19.
Suzie, like the “boy who cried wolf”, coming from you, even an actual “bigoted slur” complaint would be laughable, as it is, the made up ones are a knee slapper.
The people who are mindless sheep espousing “values” their own faith would be against, are “fundies” and it is not a compliment, nor meant to be, The only bigotry is their’s: “utterly intolerant of any creed, belief, or opinion that differs from one’s own”. Ergo a fundie is, by definition a bigot.
When you are willing to sacrifice your own communities, that have managed to live side by side with those of other faiths and sects for centuries, you are more fundamentalist than faithful. No way around it and I believe Mark is right about the lack of that awareness (among many) in the people who do support what has happened in our name for many decades. I also believe Richard is right in that you will resist accepting such knowledge as if your life depended on it.