Dinesh D'Souza - America: Imagine a World without Her Read Online Free PDF Page B

was also a mistake. I supported the war at the time, because I believed the Bush administration’s claim that Iraq had “weapons of mass destruction” (WMDs). In retrospect, that proved to be false. I don’t understand how a country can invade another country based on the suspicion that they have WMDs. We should not have gone in unless we knew they had WMDs. Having said that, the Bush administration assiduously sought torebuild Iraq after Saddam’s ouster. The problem was that this proved to be a difficult and costly enterprise. Far from stealing from Iraq, America returned to the Iraqis the keys to the oilfields, and invested hundreds of millions of dollars in restoring order and commerce to that country. Far from acting like a colonial occupier, America’s intention from the beginning was to get in and get out.
    Over the past few decades, America has intervened in a half-dozen countries, from Libya to Grenada to Afghanistan to Iraq. In every case, America has acted in a most un-colonial way. First, America did not take resources from those countries; rather, it expended resources to improve them. Second, America was planning its exit almost immediately after its intervention, looking for the quickest, safest way to get out. Progressives don’t seem to recognize this. They often make lists of countries America has invaded and occupied. But they never consider the simple question, “If America was the evil colonial occupier of all these countries, why don’t we own them?” The reason is that Americans have no interest in acquiring foreign real estate. We never have, and I’m convinced we never will. As Colin Powell memorably put it, the only ground America has sought abroad in the aftermath of war is sufficient ground to bury our dead. 8
    At its core, American foreign policy is based on two simple precepts: (a) don’t bomb us and (b) trade with us. This is all that Americans want from the rest of the world. A more benign foreign policy can hardly be imagined. America should not and does not oppose the rise of other powers, as long as they are peaceful trading powers and not violent conquering powers. In the future, America should be more cautious about committing troops abroad. How then can we assist other countries to become free? The people in those countries must take the initiative. They must recognize the value of freedom. In general, we won’t fight for their freedom. They must fight,but we can help. This was precisely the Reagan Doctrine of the 1980s. The mujahedeen in Afghanistan and the contras in Nicaragua are the ones who fought tyrannical regimes in their own countries. America did not send troops, but we did assist in other ways. And both resistance movements were successful. The Reagan Doctrine provides a good rule for America in the future: it steers a healthy middle course between reckless intervention and irresponsible indifference.
    In the beginning of this chapter, I quoted Jeane Kirkpatrick’s wry remark that “Americans need to face the truth about themselves, no matter how pleasant it is.” Kirkpatrick meant this half-jokingly, but only half-jokingly. On the balance, America has been a great force for good in the world. From World War II to the Cold War to innumerable smaller involvements, America has simultaneously protected its self-interest while also making the world a better place. While America has made its mistakes, in no circumstance over the past hundred years has it gone abroad to conquer and plunder. In no case has America stolen the wealth of any other country. The allegation of some progressives that America is an evil empire is not simply wrong—it is obscene. For foreigners to make such allegations is one thing; for Americans to falsely accuse their own country is another. If America declines, new powers will rise to take its place. Then the world—and perhaps even the progressives—will miss the leadership of the kindest, gentlest superpower in world history.

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