by James Glaser
October 17, 2005

That "thousand year" line is an exaggeration, but you hear it all the time when people are talking about Iraq or almost any other hot spot in the Middle East. The Sunnis hate the Kurds and the Shia hate both of them. In that part of the world, blood feuds go on for generations.

When I was in college, I saw a film about two tribes in New Guinea, and these two tribes had been fighting back and forth, throughout their known history. No one knew what started the whole thing, but they kept the hate going by teaching their children to hate the other tribe.

Afghanistan is filled with local tribes, who are run by War Lords. These War Lords are given that title, because they lead their local tribe in conflicts with both outsiders, like the Soviets, and neighboring tribes who they have fought for centuries.

To these people, it doesn't matter what started these feuds, what matters to these people is the last offense that their family, clan, or tribe suffered. They know that it is up to them to uphold the "honor" of their group, by retaliating in kind. That retaliation keeps the flow of blood continuing.

The United States of America does not hold with Blood Feuds. Yes, we still have many former Marines, who fought in the Pacific in WW II, and they still hate the "Japs." There are men who served in Korea who hate Koreans, and there are Vietnam Vets who hate all "Gooks." What happens here though is that when the combatants die, their hate dies with them. Younger Americans usually don't hate the enemies of their fathers and grandfathers, but in other countries, that hate transfers from father to son or daughter.

Right now, George Bush and his administration are starting a Blood Feud with those in the Middle East. George and those working with him, might not even know what they are doing, but in the Middle East, blood can only pay for blood.

I know it is hard for us to understand this concept, but we better start catching on real fast. Our children and grandchildren will be paying for our country's mistakes for a long time to come. No one disputes that we have killed thousands of innocent people in Bush's wars, and what is done, is done, but we have to start thinking about the consequences of our actions.

Think about the hate we are building up for America. Think about your parents being killed by a foreign power or your children. That hate lingers on for a long, long time.

One reason we can walk away from the hate of World War II, is the fact that most of our losses were military men. Those who fought were those who were killed. Think about our own Civil War, where innocent civilians were killed and think about how long the anger and hate stayed with us. There are still a lot of bumper stickers in the South that say, "I Don't Care How You Do It Up North." Many people in the South still feel that they are a separate part of our nation, and that war was over a hundred and forty years ago.

So we shouldn't be surprised if terrorism against our country expands in the years to come. No longer are we dealing just with the Osama bin Ladens of the world, no, now we have to think about the guy in Baghdad, whose "true love" we shot or whose child was killed with an errant bomb or artillery round.

Yes we did have to go after who ever attacked our country on September 11th 2001, but they were individuals, not nations. For the last five years we have been steadily increasing the number of people who are now looking forward to someday giving us some "pay back."

George Bush wanted some "blood" as payback for the attack on our country, and that is understandable, but it is also very foolish. The people who planned and financed the attack on us are still out there, and thanks to George, they only have to travel a short distance to attack us now. Now instead of years of planning with terrible logistics, a terrorist only has to get to Iraq or Afghanistan to kill an American.

George Bush made the Blood for Blood tradition of the Middle East a whole lot easier for those who want to keep their family or Tribe's honor intact. With the continued killing of innocents in these two countries, we can look forward to American blood paying for George's war, for years to come.