..........are we learnng? Are they learning?

We all know that the assasination of Bhutto will bring trouble on a scale not seen since our "good buddy", 'Mooshy took over Pakistan in a military coop. We could see civil war in yet another highly unstable society. This one is a bit different - they have nukes, and Al Queda wants nukes. Our government wanted Bhutto to be back in power, and was urged/backed by Dr. Rice and our administration. She now has paid with her life; not to mention, the others who were hurt/killed in the attack; as well as, the additional 23 who have died in the unrest that followed. Our administration wanted a more friendly government in office, so we attempted to orchestrate one. To align with us seems to be a death sentence. Do you remember a religious leader in Iraq that actually visited with President Bush, and was killed a few days later? He was supposed to be the moderate leader who would bring the Sheites and Sunnis closer together. We are definitely slow learners in the foreign policy scene. Many, many of our attempts to bring democracy to people who really didn't want it, have ended in disaster and hatred toward the United States. Let's see, there was Iran, Vietnam, Iraq, Russia, Afghanistan; just to name a few. Democracy works for us. We wanted it, and we rose up aganist the opposition on our own to get it. These people are getting pushed into it by us. We ask quite a bit from people who really don't know how to handle that kind of freedom. It is my opinion that we want these people to join us in democracy so we can have some control; a big brother figure, if you will, over them and their/our interests. What we seem to never figure into the equation is the fact that these are people who have lived for centuries in another form of government. Many of our "project governments" also have a single religion as the focal point of their way of life/government. These things can't be changed in the time frame that we seem to require. You have to ask yourself one question; "Why do people hate us so bad?". There are many opinions on that question alone; but, our "cowboy" way of doing things doesn't help at all. Everyone cheered when the Soviet Union fell and the democratic Russia began to evolve. That was probably the most unstable act that has happened in modern times. Russia is very unstable right now, and they are very distrusting of us (that hasn't and won't ever change). Who will Russia finally align themselves with? That could decide the future of our existence. Will Al Queda get the nukes from Pakistan or Russia? How will the world react? How will we react? Yes, we must fight terrorism and keep our people safe; but, yes, we also need more allies in the fight. We don't have enough allies that really matter in this fight, and more will run from us as time wears on - I'm totally convinced of that. We have heroes fighting and dying in the field of battle right now. Let's make sure we have a vision for their sacrifice. Right now, it's hard to believe anything that comes from our government officials. The amount of poor intelligence and miscalculations have tarnished the reports that we hear. I know many of you don't agree with me in what I have said, and that's OK with me. It's opinion, expression of thoughts, and free thinking. Things haven't turned-out like we had hoped in the War on Terror, and it's not time and perserverence that will win the day. Our foreign policy is a complete mess, and I'm not convinced that there is a clear mission. Yes, I do love democracy; and yes, I would love to see the entire world enjoy the freedoms that I have. No, I don't have confidence that this is possible. There are too many factors that will prevent that from happening. I hope that our foreign policy will somehow develop into something that will settle for the best that we can get without going to war with the entire world.