Dual U.S. Objectives In The Post-9/11 Era
In order to be effective it is always good to have measurable objectives against which to measure oneself.
We propose two objectives for the U.S. in the Post-September 11 World:
Objective #1 needs little explanation. Some will argue that it is too lenient an objective, in that the objective should be to totally eliminate such casualties. In fact we must act as if the objective is the total elimination of casualties. But for measurement purposes, we ought to credit ourselves as successful if we can gradually reduce casualties, because the most probable scenario is that they will increase. Tens of thousands of unidentified suicidal fanatics can do great damage given their access to money and weapons and rogue government assistance.
Objective #2 is less obvious. We shall spend the rest of this short paper discussing this objective.
As the richest and most powerful nation on Earth, the U.S. invites dislike. It is natural to want to pull down those we envy. In a perfect world where each human being was totally realized, appreciated for his or her unique gifts, and not starving in one way or another, this “natural” tendency would go away. (At least this is our estimate of the situation, since our philosophy is one of “Original Innocence” rather than “Original Sin”.)
Given vast envy there is a reservoir of potential enmity against the U.S. which parties may draw upon and channel into directions which suit their own objectives.
Add to that the fact that the U.S. has made mistakes. There has been a PR campaign against the U.S. which has effectively leveraged these mistakes and in doing so has effectively depicted us as uncaring and amoral elites – this strategy made all the more effective by its germ of truth. At the same time it is a great irony in that America was founded in egalitarian idealism and has done more for everyone else in the world than any other nation – despite that germ of truth about our imperfection.
A further irony is that the U.S. is where PR has been lifted to a great art. And yet we have not used our PR artistry effectively as a nation, only as companies. Today in the Post-9/11 World we must bring PR into our foreign policy arena. Hence Objective #2: in everything that we do from now on we must be certain to take the moral high ground. This is not only the moral imperative it always was, it is now also realpolitik.
This means that instead of focusing on the U.S. striking back against the terrorist enemy, the U.S. with the rest of the UN needs to instead arm and feed the true Islam in its civil war against the splinter hatemongering false Islam.
Once it is positioned in this way, on the moral high ground, any nation that rejects the call to join this action should be expelled from the UN and considered a rogue nation – itself merely a terrorist entity.
The philosopher’s stone which separates true and false Islam is the Quran. The Quran states the same moral imperatives as Judaism and Christianity. Anyone, nation or individual, stating that civilians ought to be killed based on any justification, is not true Islam. This is a simple and clear test.
If the terrorists retreat into hypocrisy, making the noises of true Islam but persisting in the deeds of false Islam, they still fail the test.
The horrible events of 9/11 should never have happened and if the clock could be turned back we of the world majority would turn it back. But since we don’t have that power we should take advantage of the opportunity to make a new start to carry out the destiny for which both the U.S. and the UN were founded. Every action from now on must be scrutinized to make absolutely sure that any reasonably objective observer will have to conclude that we are taking the high ground. If we do this then millions of people who now envy the U.S. and would therefore love to hate us must gradually move away from this position.
If we do this then the people who died on September 11 will have given their lives for something meaningful. By taking the high ground every time from now on we consecrate their lives and make them most meaningful. This is the right thing to do.
Bill Harvey
