Maybe We Should Have Treated Iraq Like Japan

No, I am not talking about the A bomb, although I sometimes feel a tougher and a more aggressive fight would have been better in Iraq. What I am talking about is writing their new constitution for them, and forbidding any form of religion as an element in government, while also forcing them to Westernize. Those elements were imposed by us on the defeated Japanese at the end of World War II and it saved their people, their nation and made them competitive with the rest of the civilized world. I bring this up because of a rather disturbing comment from Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, who is the supreme religious authority for Shi’ite Muslims in Iraq. Here is a link to the comment reported by Healing Iraq Blog.

Sistani: "Gays Should Be Killed in Worst Way Possible."

His Eminence, Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, the supreme religious authority for Shi'ite Muslims in Iraq and worldwide, decrees that gays and lesbians should be killed in the worst manner possible, according to this news article from a London-based gay rights group.

A quick search through Sistani's official website turns up this page, translated as:

Q: What is the judgment on sodomy and lesbianism?

A: "Forbidden. Those involved in the act should be punished. In fact, sodomites should be killed in the worst manner possible."

Just another example of the peaceful religion of Islam, but this is the problem in general with any Islamic regime. They can not separate their religious ideology from the rule of law and anyone that goes against the rule of Islam is punished by bloodshed. Now we're seeing it manifest in Iraq once again. If the Iraqi people can not accept religious freedom they may end up trading one Islamic dictator for another one. We had it right with Japan. It truly is a shame that we allowed the left to use political correctness and tolerance to limit our demands in writing their constitution and rebuilding the Iraqi government in fear of looking imperialistic. In doing so we may have put the safety and progress of all the Iraqi people in danger.