BY YILMAZ OZTUNA
TURKIYE- Some people think that Iraq has become a new Vietnam for the US because over 1,000 US soldiers have died in combat there. Almost 50,000 US soldiers died in the Vietnam War. Actually this isn’t a good comparison. However, I’m not the one comparing the two conflicts. US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld recently characterized the 1,000 slain soldiers as not ‘ranking up’ when compared to victims of terrorism and vowed that the US would never give up even in the face of great losses. Of course the US has done stupid things and continues to do so in Iraq. Among the Iraqi nation, it trusts only the Kurds. Except for Britain and Israel, it also hasn’t gotten as much support as it hoped. For example, it had great faith in us but its confidence was shaken. Many people are proud that we didn’t send our soldiers to Iraq.
But if we had, today we could be fighting PKK terrorists there and defending Turkmen. Of course the US can’t democratize the Middle East. Democracy isn’t a form of government that should be implemented everywhere worldwide. This is a regime accepted by certain countries as a lifestyle. It’s not appropriate for every nation. Democracy would mean anarchy for most Middle Eastern countries because historical developments and realpolitik won’t bear fantasies and idealism. In addition, now everybody knows that the US is really aiming to control energy resources, and the fight against terrorism comes in a distant second. 2005 will be a year of surprises. The entire world should get ready.