Does America suffer from bad foreign policy karma?

Question

Someone just answered my last question about whether America should police Islamic countries with:

"The problem has been about 500 years of non stop western meddling & racism in the Middle East."

I dont know how many times I have heard this amazing logic. Lets call it the "leftist bad karma fallacy".

The argument essentially says that based upon 500 years (America's been around half that long...nit picky of me isnt it) of "bad" (whatever that is) foreign policy, Islamist rage rightfully flows. In other words, we are have built bad Karma because, since no human lives 500 years, our bad deeds have nevertheless filled the air with bad spirtuality that later generations righteously tuned into.

First, lets assume that our foreign policy was always bad, or bad enough to outweigh the good (saving Bosinak Muslims, Kuwaities, etc), enough to deserve our fate, as the left declares. If this were all true, would this still even explain Islamic warfare today?

You see, the truth is, unless your a stupid religious nut like, well...jihadists or fundies, there is no "fate" or "what comes around goes around" force of karma. This is religious tripe.

Take for example the Arab Islamic Invasions of India. Estimates run as high as 1 billion Hindus butchered, easily the greatest genocide in all human history. So, if Karma existed, would Islam remain in India today or the very ethnicity butchered by the arabs be overtaken with the religion of their oppresor? India has the second largest polulation of muslims...get this...in the entire world!

Answer 1

No. We suffer from communist scum trying to undermine our liberty.

Answer 2

Some how some way we are under the impression that acting Imperialistic should be accepted by all people everywhere. We are expounding to the world like we are on a mission of mercy and behind the scene like all warriors there is rape and plunder. People resent the advantage we have gained by the
"HELPING" position. Even our leader is telling us we will gain advantage to fight terrorism on foreign soil. The cost falls on the foreign state while we gain so security. People are moving here like crazy and they are bringing the resentment with them. Domestic issues are the most important and are issues of family and home.
Other people in distress are the car wreck we take pride in. I am all in favor of getting a international criminal. There is no upside to the actions we are taking. If we look to the world like we failed it is not a good time to pick a country we can kick around and take advantage of. Karma suggest that there is some good we have done and we some good in return. Show me the good.

Answer 3

Warfare between who? Shiites and Sunnis? We are just coming into that mess in recent history. As far as our other foreign policies, in our current governmental frame of reference, only time will tell. If we as a people support bad foreign policy and if this is supposed to be a government "of the people, by the people and for the people" perhaps the dumbing down of the American public by whatever means be it the media or George Bush and we don't react by informed vote, then the collective conscience of the universe will fall on us eventually. Karma isn't instant unless it is in a Beatle's song.

Answer 4

Absolutely yes...

We have committed some of the worst atrocities in world history. IE, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, etc... We have bullied the world and decided to dictate to everyone else what knid of democracy they should maintain, as well as, what kind of economic system.. forcing capitalism. If they don't obey us and conform to our WTO, they are sanctioned, punished and their ppl suffer.

As far as Islamic warfare state... the premise is incorrect. Al Qaeda is a sort of warfare state. The religion of Islam isn't. And keep in mind, we funded and created the Taliban in the 80s to keep Russia from taking over Afghanistan. We created Al Qaeda.

The pt is that there is no Islamic warfare state. Sure there are some Islamic extremists, just as many are calling Bush a Christian extremist with his 'we are at war with Islamic Fascists' statement.

Take Iran for example, no one of any historical knowledge would think of them as a warfare state. They have no history of ever being the aggressor in any military conflict. They are a member of the NPT and only announced their desire to enrich Uranium for energy purposes after Bush resigned the USA from the ABT in Dec 2001.

Answer 5

If "The problem has been about 500 years of non stop western meddling & racism in the Middle East." somehow translates into an argument about karma, then you've got a screw loose.

And if the "estimate" of "up to 1 billion" is a statistical analysis, it's backed out of the threads completely.

Answer 6

well... it really depends... I don't so much think of it as karma... as much as "making friends with a crazy person".... Reagan wanted to give Saddam and Osama weapons and money in the 80s... getting involved in the matters of the middle east...

and then someone is surprised that they attack us...

this doesn't JUSTIFY what they did... but as I said... you don't make friends with a crazy person... and then act all surprised when they do something crazy that hurts you...

hang with a bad crowd and you will get burned... even though you may not be doing anything wrong and don't deserve to get "burned"

Answer 7

We just throw money at problems then go away. "Bad" move on our part. I don't think its our bad deeds, I do think, however, its the powers that be and their bad deeds that have hurt us so much.

Answer 8

The increasing US debt is due to its aggressive foreign policy.