Let's Use Our Best Weapon Against Iran - Capitalism

By Cenk Uygur
Created Dec 20 2006 - 9:05am

Why do we never learn? Why can't we learn anything from our experience in
Vietnam? In Vietnam, we saw what we did wrong, but even more importantly,
what we did right.

It turns out invading a country that isn't a real military threat to you and
trying to suppress a hostile local insurgency is not the right way to go.
Who could have seen that coming? Color me surprised.

But ultimately, we're winning in Vietnam. President Bush was in Vietnam
recently talking about how much progress they're making. Not the kind of
progress we're making in Iraq, real progress.

Why is Vietnam friendlier to us now? Why are they not a threat to their
neighbors or to world peace? Why are they a trading partner? One word -
capitalism.

Coke, McDonald's and Levi's have done more to convert Vietnam to our way of
thinking than any of our bombs ever did. The Vietnamese would have resisted
us for the next one hundred years if we kept up our military assault. But
they were no match for Burger King.

Freedom and capitalism have wonderfully corrosive effects. Once they get in
your bloodstream, you can't get them out. We should let them do our dirty
work for us.

The model we have used with China is far more effective than the model we
used with Iraq. In China, we engaged them, opened them up for business - and
now they're screwed. Who thinks China is still communist? They pretend they
are, but in fact, they are now the largest capitalist country in the world.

With economic freedom, eventually comes political freedom. This has not come
to fruition in China and Vietnam yet, but it is on the way. It's an
unstoppable freight train. Once people taste freedom - as Pepsi would say -
they gotta have it!

Perhaps even more important than political freedom is world stability. It
isn't that democracies don't start wars -- as George Bush claims -- after
all, we started one with Iraq for no apparent reason. It's that capitalist
countries don't go to war with one another. Why? Because it's bad for
business. Slows down trade.

Once you shift power down from monarchs or dictators who can gain power by
more land acquisition down to business owners who lose power by disrupting
business with trading partners, war becomes less likely. I am sure there are
exceptions to this rule because of old ethnic hatreds and other unstoppable
forces, but over all, the rule stands.

What would China or Vietnam gain by attacking someone else now? Not much.
What would they lose in business opportunities? A lot. Capitalism works.

So, now we are faced with a decision in Iran. Do we go with the military
approach, which Dick Cheney and his neo-clown buddies can't wait to
implement? Or do we go with the wiser course of beating them with
capitalism?

We have never lost a war of ideas. When the United States set up the United
Nations there were only 15 democracies in the world. There are now over 100.
We thought we could work with the world in building democracies throughout
the globe. We were right.

After World War II, our allies wanted to punish our defeated enemies. We had
the revolutionary idea of building them back up so that they would be our
allies. We were right.

The Soviet Union thought they had a better political system than us. They
thought communism would take over the world and vanquish capitalism. They
were wrong. We were right.

I am not saying military campaigns never work. There is, unfortunately, a
time for war. But this is not it. We see the disastrous consequences of
going to war when you don't have to. And luckily, there is a better way. Let
our ideas win.

Ahmedinejad's party just got trounced in local elections in Iran. He was
booed at a speech last week inside his own country. Over 50%% of Iran is
under the age of 25. They want freedom. They want french fries and Coca
Cola. They want nice American jeans and the internet. They want to see Paris
Hilton and Britney Spears party together. Let them have it.

If you bomb them, they will have to fight. They will revert to nationalism
and be forced to support their fundamentalist leaders. If you engage them,
their leadership has no chance in the long run. None. They will be wiped off
the face of the earth. Without a single bullet fired.

Our ideas are the most powerful weapons we have. They work. We just have to
give them a chance to work. Inject any country with free trade, economic
freedom and capitalism. Sit back, relax and enjoy the show.

Please, for once, let's learn from what we have done wrong and what we have
done right in the past. Let's find a new way forward with Iran. Instead of
using our bombs, let's use our brains for a change.

The Young Turks [1]
_______

--
NOTICE: This post contains copyrighted material the use of which has not
always been authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material
available to advance understanding of
political, human rights, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues. I
believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright
Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107

"A little patience and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their
spells dissolve, and the people recovering their true sight, restore their
government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are
suffering deeply in spirit,
and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public
debt. But if the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have
patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning
back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at
stake."
-Thomas Jefferson