In My Opinion: We should have killed ’em with kindness

Read Time:3 Minute, 1 Second

As we approach the

10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks

How different could the

past 10 years have been?

I realize this may not be a very popular idea, but please read through to the end before passing judgement on my sanity.

I am wondering what this country would be like today if, ten years ago, we had acted like the Christian nation we claim to be and had turned the other cheek. No, I’m not insane, let me explain.  If in 2001 after the smoke cleared, we had come together as a nation and said, “Yes we were attacked, but not by any one nation.  What is the best way to fight back?” And our answer had been, “Kill ’em with kindness.” I know it sounds stupid and naive, but let’s look at it closer.

If the U.S. and it’s allies had NOT gone after Afghanistan all guns blazing in October of 2001 but gone in with the KEWK (Kill ‘Em With Kindness) Plan.

We could have invaded Afghanistan with food and medicines, teachers, farming experts and social workers and we actually fed and doctored people, built schools and modern hospitals and taught teachers and doctors, helped farmers raise crops other than opium and incidentally, told people how we were attacked by the Al Qaeda and Taliban in their midst, do you think the Afghans wouldn’t have started to turn in the bad guys, do you think after REALLY winning their hearts and minds, they wouldn’t have helped us?

Instead of invading Iraq in 2003 under false pretenses, stayed in Afghanistan and continued the KEWK policy. Considering the happenings in the past year, with the ‘Arab Spring’ revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Syria and how it it is spreading across North Africa and the Persian Gulf, it might have been possible that the Iraqis, seeing our relations with the Afghans next door, would have tossed Saddam out on his ass?  Do you think they could have come to us and said, “You helped the Afghans after some of their people attacked you, can you help us too?” What an interesting development that would have been.
 

The kindness effect on the rest of the world

Let us for a moment consider the effects of this policy on the entire Middle East and actually the rest of the world. I would be willing to bet we would no longer be the great Satan. I believe our credibility would have increased tenfold, not to mention general goodwill worldwide. I absolutely do not believe we would be perceived as weak, it takes a bigger man to walk away from a fight. What an amazing memorial that would have been to the 9/11 victims. Retribution and revenge don’t work, not in the long run. All we have done is increase world tension, alienated countless Muslims and made ourselves come off more as bullies than a wronged party.

The last aspect of this is our blood and treasure. How many of our kids, husbands, wives, brothers and sisters would be alive, un-maimed or un-traumatized today? How many victims of traumatized vets returned home broken and untreated would be alive today? How many families would be untouched by pain and grief?  How much treasure would we have to fix all the disaster victims, foreclosure victims, jobless, homeless and generally helpless people we have today?

How much safer would the world be without all the anger and revenge? How pleasant our lives would be if we didn’t have to look over our shoulder or suspect our neighbor.

Still think I’m crazy and naive?

killing them with kindness

About Post Author

R. J. Opus

R.J. is by turns, sentimental, political, snotty, sarcastic, angry, philosophical, opinionated, funny and usually fair. She is not religious, bigoted, sexist, ageist, boring, maudlin or Republican. She truly believes in your right to your opinion, even if it's wrong.
Happy
Happy
0 %
Sad
Sad
0 %
Excited
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
Angry
0 %
Surprise
Surprise
0 %
0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of

9 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
lazersedge
12 years ago

R.J. I agree that your idea of approaching the situation from a position of kindness would have been far superior to what we did but that has never been the “Christian” approach to anything. The animosity felt toward us goes back further than the past decade or so but we could have shown that we were different than before. The problem is now, and has always been that Christians, in general, are now, and have always been among the most violent and retaliatory people in the world toward any perceive injustice done toward them or their religion. Though they point their fingers toward those of the Islamic faith they forget that there are at least three pointing back at them. That is the reason that so many people are leaving organized religions now, especially the Christian and Muslin variety.
A beautiful thought though.

RealRightRobert
12 years ago

Good job the military don’t listen to Liberals.

oso
Reply to  RealRightRobert
12 years ago

Good point Robert. Wouldn’t want to waste our money making American great again when we can instead kill people and make them hate us.

Reply to  oso
12 years ago

Hear! Hear! Oso!!!!!

Admin
12 years ago

This is a beautiful piece and you are neither crazy or naive. While I don’t disagree that your suggested program could be far more effective than bombs and bullets, in Afghanistan at least, the enemy would not have been receptive. The Taliban had held the country hostage for years, and al Qaeda were their honored guests. Both organizations are dangerous not only to us but to the world. No end of kindness would have stopped them from their mission of persecuting their own people and being instrumental in launching terrorist attacks in other parts of the world. The Afghan people, the innocents, would have been too afraid to turn anyone in. Such action would have cost their lives and the lives of their family. This is one case where brute force was necessary at the time.

While I like Oso’s idea of a collaboration between nations I can guarantee that Iran would never side with the U.S. as long as the Mullahs are running the place. As to Russia, the price would have been far too high.

In the case of Iraq, which had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with 9/11, the idea of sending humanitarian assistance would have been far more effective than killing thousands of innocent civilians and sacrificing the lives of several thousand allied soldiers. The problem would have been the leadership of Iraq. In no case would they allow the United States to do such a thing. Their pride wouldn’t let them and there was no evidence that they really needed anything from us. Before the war they were doing fine, excepting the dictatorship of course.

In conclusion a kinder and more gentler world would be a good place indeed, but it has never been that way and I doubt, albeit most sadly, that it ever will.

Thanks for a wonderful and heartfelt post.

Jess
12 years ago

I think about this myself and am totally in the naive corner, if you want to call it that, right there beside you. War should never be the first option, always that very last thing you do when you run out of everything else.

oso
12 years ago

RJ,
What a beautiful article, I think you are so right. Had GWB chosen to be a statesman instead of a populist, I think we’d have a different world today.

Not saying the perpetrators should have gone unpunished, not at all. But it was criminal, and it didn’t involve the Afghans and certainly not Iraq.

With the excellent intelligence of both Russia and Iran we could have used special forces of all three nations to eliminate those involved.

BigHarryH
12 years ago

Not stupid, not stupid at all. What you express, lots of people feel in their hearts, but don’t have the courage to say it out loud. Well done.

12 years ago

You’re not crazy R.J., using a well-armed, tough, hi-tech military as a force for peace, as apposed to a force for war, is a novel idea. One that been touted from time to time, but laughed at by the hawks in our society (of course).

IF the U.S. had gone the “kindness” route, there would still have been casualties, suicide bombings and ferocious resistance from the hardcore Taliban, but the military would have taken a defend and protect stance and not a seek and destroy mission. The casualties would have been minor for both U.S. personnel and Afghan citizens, compared to what they are so far 10 years into the conflict. Plus the bonus of not invading Iraq and probably, as you suggest, the Iraqis themselves would have taken care of Saddam.

These are good, honest thoughts you put forward and a heartfelt reflection on what could have been. Hope a lot of people read this. Thank you for taking the time to write it.

Previous post Eric Cantor: Social Security is unsustainable
Next post The great Republican lie about Obama and Bush
9
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x