Live and Let Live in the Middle East

It is our present National policy to reduce the effect of terrorist action and support the people in the Mid East in their efforts to gain personal freedom and safe living.
While these goals are admirable, the results are clearly less than successful.
After ten years of implementing this policy the Mid East is more than ever under war conditions and the handing over of the reins to local enforcement has not happened.
The major response by the Middle East population to our intervention to their political problems has been negative.
Our soldiers are seen as usurpers to the job of their own people to solve their own problems.
As a photographer at a wedding, I once noticed a frustrated maitre d rushing to get all the candles lit for the Bride and Groom and their guests to enter the reception hall on time.
I started to help light the candles but the maitre d became extremely angry, asking me if I thought he couldn't handle his job himself.
It didn't matter that there was a need and that I was willing to 'help'.
Even our help in refurbishing the infrastructure in their countries has prompted the response, 'We'd rather do it ourselves'.
Just as we don't fully understand what drives their religions and their government, they don't grasp what personal freedom means to the citizens of the free world.
Results are what count, and if their response to our help is any indication,we have failed miserably.
The sanctions we have imposed are more hurtful to the populace than they serve as a deterrent to government actions.
Most of the weapons being used against us were manufactured somewhere in the free world.
Our soldiers are needlessly being harmed in a war not of their choice and our government is suffering economically from the high cost of supporting the war.
So what is the answer? What should we do? I think we should continue our support of the Middle East people by helping their learning institutions, increase the spreading of the story of democracy and freedom, sending doctors, teachers and engineers to train and educate the people of the Middle East and by sending our soldiers home.
I think we should crack down on the manufacturers of weapons and ammunition by limiting their customers to bona fide democratic governments and police organizations.
The invention of the internet and the cell phone spell the end of the dictatorial governments in the Middle East and anything we can do to quicken the dissemination of these tools will save many lives and bring freedom to the masses.