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Campaign Diary by Willaim Coit
Tuesday, September 18, 2001Hi friends, cool heads have prevailed and I began to think of ways that the U.S. can improve relations with countries in the Middle East. (The source of most of the terrorist activities)
First, I am going to quote Richard Falk of Princeton University, a foreign policy scholar, "This is the first world war for which there is no military solution. And without a military solution our leaders lack the imagination to understand what is happening and what to do."
In our quest for retribution, we need to take a long hard look at the policies and political structures that fan the flames of terrorism. We should seek to understand why such anger in the Middle East and elsewhere is directed at America.
You may ask, what is Terrorism? Terrorism is mainly the weapon of the politically weak, frustrated ideologues, and religious fanatics.
What is America's policy in the Middle East that has contributed to the inflammation of terrorism? I'll discuss three countries. Iraq, Iran, and Algeria.
First Iraq, we have supported the United Nations sanctions following the end of the Persian Gulf War. Has it worked and brought about meaningful change? NO. It has simply not been effective in achieving the destabilization of Saddam Hassan government. Are sanctions going to work? NO. All we have to do is look at our experience with Cuba for the last 40 years where Castro continues to reign.
When I am elected Congressman, I will seek to open a dialogue with the Iraqi government through the use of trade, people-to-people exchange, espousing the virtues of democracy, and demanding support of the abolition to terrorism in return for assistance in rebuilding their economy. That would be a smarter solution to actually bring about change than simply unilateral sanctions.
Iran - America has imposed strict economic and diplomatic sanctions on Iran. The problem with this strategy is the lack of support from European allies and surrounding Middle Eastern countries that continue to engage in economic trade with Iran without regard to our policy.
When I am elected Congressman, I will seek to open a dialogue with Iran based on incentives. We will do A, if Iran will do B. We will rollback sanctions, if Iran agrees to reject terrorism.
Algeria - We have established a dialogue with the military leaders who reportedly staged several unfair elections, according to Dr. Bradford Dillman, professor at Koc University. Since the election of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in 1999, we have continued to aid the military without regard to the moderate Islamists who continue to have strong support amongst the people of Algeria.
I agree that we should continue the efforts of the Clinton administration and push for a return of free and fair elections, re-establishing a dialogue with the Algerian Islamists, and demand accountability for human rights violations.
You are probably wondering how does terrorism affect Georgia? Well the obvious is the emotional toll on our psyche. We spend countless numbers of hours grieving and burying the dead. In addition, the financial burdens are enormous. There's a loss of jobs, destruction of property, and infringement on our freedoms. With a concerted effort to improve our foreign policy, Georgia seeks to benefit immensely with increase trade with these countries, job creation, protection of our freedoms, and a major decline in the attacks on our way of life. Only then, will we be able to eradicate the threat of terrorism on American soil.
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