The Mistake the West Keeps Making

There is a mistake Americans and western civilization keep making. A few diplomates and a few in the military understand the issue, but very few in the general public understand the problem. Sadly, and most tragic, is that few of the old men that send young men to war understand this basic reality of human nature.

The first-time western civilization failed to recognize this problem was in World War II against Japan. The mistake was made again during the “Police Action” in Korea against North Korea and China, then again during the Vietnam War, and now with the wars and conflicts in the Middle East.

Arrogant assumption that these other cultures will respect, observe, and adopt western standards of behavior

At the start of World War II, Europe was at war with a nation and culture that generally shared the same Christian history and cultural values. Set aside crazy Adolf Hitler. Germany, all of Europe, and even the Soviet Union had generally the same set of cultural values and norms based on Judeo-Christian teachings, whereas Japan, China, and all of Asia, not being Christian cultures, viewed life and war based on a completely different set of values and norms. From the viewpoint of Western Civilizations, these other cultures demonstrated nothing less than barbaric behaviors.

Then in 1979, America found itself embroiled in our first conflict with radical Sharia Law following Islamic clerics who had taken over the nation of Iran. The first “act of war” was Iran seizing the United States embassy in Teheran and holding American diplomats and military personnel prisoners until 1981. The first Ayatollah declared war against America and Israel and declared the intent to destroy both. By Western standards, Sharia Law and the radical segments of Islam that stone people, cuts off hands, decapitates people, and throws homosexuals off of roofs, are demonstrating their 8^th century barbaric behavior.

The mistake of which I speak is the arrogant assumption that these other cultures will respect, observe, and adopt western standards of behavior. Although Japan and South Korea have, to a great extent, adopted western ways, North Korea, China, and much of the Middle East still reject America and Western European cultural standards and values.

Now focusing just on Iran, show me where Iran has met the “agreed upon” obligations made to western standards. Everyone who is not a follower of strict Sharia Law is the enemy of the Iranian Ayatollah and his administration. Under Sharia Law, lying to your enemy is quite acceptable. Barack Obama (closet Islamist) and Joe Biden (brain dead) bought into the Ayatollah’s schtick and funded Iran’s nuclear ambitions, permitting Iran to get where they are today.

When working with different cultures, it is important to respect that culture

Ronald Reagan adopted the position with the USSR, “Trust but verify.” It worked because of the common nature of our cultures and values. Since the first nuclear agreement with Iran, that approach has never worked because history has demonstrated that the Iranians could not and cannot be trusted. Therefore, America and the world must flip the script to “Verify then trust.”

Anything less than unconditional surrender by the Iran Ayatollah is a fool’s errand. America and Israel, not the United Nations, must have unfettered access to anything and everything to verify that Iran’s nuclear program is dead for good and that it stays dead.

Like Muammar Gaddafi, has the Ayatollah been scared straight by the Israeli and American bombing and wants out? Only time will tell.

As much as it pains us, America must operate closer to the value systems of the different cultures we deal with, both in war and in peace. As hard as it is to believe, western standards simply don’t work everywhere, and we will save ourselves a lot of pain if we remember that. When working with different cultures, it is important to respect that culture.

Forcing regime change is a bad idea. For example, we tried that in Iraq, and it proved to be a miserable failure. The Iraqi people were not ready for a democracy. However, the United States did have tremendous success changing one society. Japan has turned into a very westernized society without losing its fundamental character. The reason is that General Douglas MacArthur understood the Japanese culture and insisted on keeping the Japanese Emperor in place after WWII. That made all the difference in the world.

That is why it is important to not depose Iran’s Ayatollah but still require an unconditional surrender. The Ayatollah is needed to validate the reality of the new status of Iran in the world.