Doing more to convince the world of America’s sincerity

I’ve been reading with interest the recent letters being published regarding the recent presidential election. While there are many in the CNMI who are glad that President Bush won, there are also many who are deeply troubled by the thought of what four more years of this administration might bring for America. I tend to agree more with the latter group in expressing their views on why we should worry about what the next four years might bring for our country and the world. America has been through so much since the attacks of 9/11. We had the world’s sympathy, and what did this president do? He squandered that sympathy by invading Iraq with accusations that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, and that he posed an “imminent threat” to the United States. Those weapons have never been found. This president’s policies have alienated many of our allies, emboldened our enemies, overstretched our military, and has ballooned the national deficit. The Patriot Act has eroded some of our fundamental rights as American citizens. Under the Patriot Act, the government has the power to declare any American citizen an “enemy combatant” and can deny that citizen his constitutional rights to counsel and the courts. That’s a dictatorship!

As for winning a mandate, this president must never forget that there are still millions of people who voted against him. Many of those people are passionately against all that this administration stands for. It’s incredibly ironic that the majority of those that voted for Bush were from rural states in the Midwest and the South where terrorists are least likely to attack. Terrorists are more likely to attack states like New York and California—states that overwhelmingly voted for J.F. Kerry!

Well, now we are in a tumultuous war in Iraq and there are no signs that that conflict is winding down. We have no choice but to support our troops who are doing the best job possible under the circumstances. But Bush must do more to assure the world that the United States is only there to help out the Iraqis, and that we do not have long-term plans of staying there. Osama Bin Laden’s latest video—released right before the election—revealed something very interesting. He mentioned the fact that Bush has repeatedly said that the reason why terrorists hate the United States is because they hate freedom. Bin Laden’s reply was that, if they hate freedom so much, why is that they’ve never attacked Sweden? That’s a very revealing statement. The root cause of all the hatred and animosity found in the Arab-Muslim world is the somewhat twisted policies of the United States, especially with regards to America’s blind support of Israel. While I support the existence of Israel, we must also recognize that the Palestinians have as much a right to live in their own state, too. After all, Israel was nonexistent until after World War II. Before that, that area was under a British mandate known as Palestine. It is these and many other reasons why the United States should take another look at its policies with regards to the Middle East. We can never defeat terrorism if we don’t look at the root cause of why so many people ardently hate America and are willing to die in order for them to be heard. You see, for them, it is more important that their sister not walk down the street in a mini-skirt than for them to have freedom. We must recognize that they have many ancient customs and traditions that go back centuries. These traditions have been around for generations, and for a foreign country to come over and try to change that would be met with hostility, simply because it portrays a sense of superiority that is readily resented. Never forget that respect is a two-way street. You give some, and you get some.

I just hope and pray that the president realizes this and hopefully adapts his policies to the actual circumstances that occur on the ground. As Americans, we must now unite behind our president and voice our opinions whether we agree with him or not. In the end, we all are one people—all citizens of the greatest country the world has ever known.

Christopher Attao Concepcion
Moscow, ID