My Iran strategy

[EM_PS]

But if America wants to play World Police, why didn't we get involved in Rwanda, or Darfur, or any of the other African civil wars where the people were being raped and killed by armies? Why did we invade Viet Nam to end communism there, but we did virtually nothing to end the reign of Pol Pot in Cambodia? Sure there may be other motives for people in the Middle East to hate us, but there are also other reasons why we keep invading their countries.

What entity in their right mind would ever want that title (World Police)? Everything this country has ever done anytime, anywhere has always had an agenda; socio-economic, financial, commodity, military - ad nauseum. Atrocities will never stop happening - someday a body such as the United Nations or whatever may actually 'get involved'. .

 

[benbo]

Why did we invade Viet Nam to end communism there, but we did virtually nothing to end the reign of Pol Pot in Cambodia?
Sure there may be other motives for people in the Middle East to hate us, but there are also other reasons why we keep invading their countries.

Well, I think I'll get off the Middle East debate.

But geez, I think there would have been no possible political chance for us to go into Cambodia. We were just then getting out of Vietnam. Just the notion that we might have crossed the border from Vietnam was a huge scandal. Remember John Kerry and his trip into Cambodia? And I believe it was to a great degree the very Viet Cong and North Vietnamese we had just stopped fighting that immediately went across and helped put Pol Pot in power. THere was a lot of really nasty stuff in SE Asia after we left Vietnam - not just in Cambodia. Whether it would have happened if we hadn't gone in - I think so (look at China itself), but who really knows. Luckily, things have improved in Vietnam over time.

I don't know about being the world's policeman. I wouldn't be surprised if we did get involved in Darfur. But I sort of predict a little more reserved foreign policy going forward, after the past few years and with our own economic problems. Obviously, where we get involved has something to do with where (rightly or wrongly) the government thinks we have strategic interests. AS far as the UN, well the US isn't the only bad guy apparently, compared tosome of those peacekeepers in Africa.