I debated for some time before deciding that this diary should be written. This is first and foremost a private family tragedy that should never have gained the national political responses and actions that it did. However, in the past week this has been
THE story to be coming out of America to the point that the rest of the global community has been made very aware of it, as well as the extraordinary actions taken by the Congress and President in the name of "a culture of life". While I have seen various political dimensions discussed here, elsewhere, and throughout the MSM in America (being Canadian it is hard not to given the sea of American channels we see, as well as getting CNN domestic instead in the international channel version), there is an aspect that does not yet seem to have occurred to anyone just yet.
Mind you, I can well understand why this may not have been considered yet, given that this tragedy is still playing itself out to resolution, and that the domestic political implications are quite potent as it is. To start and try to discuss this in foreign policy implications in this environment is something that done by the left/Democratic party at this time would be toxic, IMHO. However, I am not American, and I do think that the implications that arise from this for the international perspective in something that needs to be taken into account, so hence this diary entry.
Now, before I go into the substance of this matter, I want to make a couple of things clear in advance. I am very sympathetic to all those that are directly caught up in this family tragedy from the Schindlers to Michael Schiavo, because for them there is nothing but pain from this situation. To not acknowledge this is to diminish the humanity of all involved at that level. However, I have far less sympathy for those that have seen in this tragedy a platform from which they can exploit their own political agenda(s), and I am horrified at the attempt to actively demand judicial activism by the US Congressional leadership and the President of the USA. The idea that the rule of law and judicial review is cornerstone in all democratic countries, and to see that fundamental concept being so mistreated and abused like this sends shudders through many of us as to where America is moving to regarding theocratic governance.
Now, let us consider a few things that are generally known regarding Osama bin Laden and those that subscribe to his ideology/philosophy. Aside from the oil grabbing and dominance of Arab nations for resource exploitation that he decries as colonialism being disguised as "democracy", there is another argument he uses routinely in his propaganda: That America wants to convert the Muslim world just like the Crusaders did several centuries ago. This argument is one that has powerful historical resonance for the people of that region of the world, and of the two main strings in bin Laden's propaganda bow I would argue that this one is the more dangerous of the two.
Now, ever since 9/11/01 the American government has tried to claim time and again that Christian colonialism/conversion is not any goal of America, in part because America is not a theocratic society but one of multiple religions and beliefs all living together as equal citizens. Periodically this fails when language like President Bush's "crusade" talk early on happens, or when things like what General Boykin was saying makes it into the media and gets reported internationally. Not to mention some of the more extreme comments coming out of "respected" religious leaders within the American political Right about the need to convert or kill the heathens before they kill us. So then the American government has to put more lip service into claiming that this is not a religious war, and less successful it becomes after each incident.
Then there is the willingness of America to torture others, but simultaneously be in an uproar about any torture done to an American, leaving many internationally to wonder whether it is believed that the life of an American is somehow inherently more valuable than the life of any other human beings, especially in the Arab world regarding Arab life. This is where the Schiavo case does damage, I suspect. It has been seen that the need to keep a woman that has been PVS for 15 years (a white woman at that) alive rated more important to President Bush than a tsunami that killed a quarter million people including American tourists, but mostly Asians (non-whites). It has been seen that the life of one American woman is so important that a special law is important to save her life, while the lives of thousands and tens of thousands of Arabs deserves no such examination. It has been seen that the value of one American woman's life is more important to Americans than those that are killed as a direct result of American foreign policy. (keep in mind I am speaking from their POV, not an American one when I say these things, understanding the POV other others is crucial to understanding their motives and probable actions)
However, what I really think may have been the most damaging aspect of this comes down to the power "Christians" have to dictate the actions of the American government. If the American government is so willing to defer to it's religious fundamentalists like it did where one of their own citizens is concerned, what then would they be willing to accommodate when it is only foreigners that will feel the effects? This is something that can be held up by those that support Islamic fundamentalist activist/terrorist actions as proof that this really is a war of religions, and that all good Muslims had best wake up to that and aid in the salvation of the Islamic Faith from the newest Crusaders. This is the sort of propaganda tool that will work best for those propagandists, and the Bush Administration and Congress gave it to them on a silver platter. Not to mention begging the question why fundamentalist Christian political power is acceptable, but fundamentalist Islamic political power is not.
This also leaves many in allied countries wondering just how powerful that Christian theocratic impulse truly is in America when this sort of thing happens. It makes them and their citizens question just how far they can trust America not to apply such standards to them, as well as concerns as to whether being allied with America on something security related can now be spun as further aiding religious crusaders against the Islamic Faith. There are a lot of real downsides for the WoT in this action, and given how smart the Islamic propagandists have been with much less powerful material, I am really concerned about what kind of long term hay they can make out of this one.
Well, I hope this explains my concerns in an understandable fashion. I realize that I am simply offering an opinion at this point, but only because it will take some time to see exactly how this does get used by the Islamic fundamentalists to paint America yet again as the Crusaders. I think most recognize that such an image is actively harmful to the security interests of America, indeed the world generally. Thanks for your patience to all that take the time to read this.