Digging for wisdom in the Middle East

Unwise actions are actions that have consequences which do not achieve desired results, whereas wise actions achieve desired results. In order to judge whether or not the actions of the Bush administration have been wise or unwise in Iraq, we must therefore examine the consequences of those actions.

According to the US state department's latest annual report on global terrorism,

"Iraq's sectarian warfare fueled a sharp increase in global terrorism in 2006", and terrorist attacks are "up more than 25%".

Source

If, then, increasing the number of terrorist attacks worldwide by 25% is desirable, then the president's actions are wise.


According to the Princeton Study on National Security, in a document entitled "Documenting the Phenomenon of Anti-Americanism" by Nicole Spedula one reads,

"Younger people express more antipathy for America than their older cohorts in most of the West. For example, in 2002 38% in France under age 30 had an unfavorable opinion of the U.S. and by 2005 64% view America negatively. In Britain, America’s closest ally in the war on terrorism, animosity among the young has double in the last three years—from one-in-six in 2002 to one-in-three in 2005. A similar rise in the dislike of America is seen in Germany and it is even more pronounced in Spain; fully 62% of Spaniards under age 30 have a negative view of the U.S. while just 39% of their elders say so."

Source

If, then, increasing anti-American sentiment among our allies youth is desirable, then we can consider the president's actions wise.

It is all too easy to go on in this manner, talking about the price of fuel in America today, or rising hostilities with Russia, Iran, China, Venezuela, and North Korea or our increasingly isolated positions on everything from global warming to acceptance of the rule of law.

Here is an alternative viewpoint that strikes me as wise, but it is difficult to say since I don't think it has ever been tried:

If the origins of terrorism are to be found in poverty and debt, it is not to be wondered at that military action is no solution but only serves to exacerbate the evil. It would be better, and far less costly, to cancel the debt and relieve the poverty.

Source: Michael Barratt Brown

My principal reason for rejecting a US military intervention in Iran is that you go to war with the leadership you have, which at present is unwise. Colloquially expressed, it is the "stop digging" argument (i.e. when you find yourself in a hole the first thing you need to do is stop digging).