March 18, 2003 - 4:40 p.m.
Twelve years ago I protested the Gulf War. It wasn't based on political opinions of our government's foreign policy. It wasn't a stance that Iraq deserved Kuwait. It wasn't even over supposed imperialist designs on foreign oil fields. It was a knee-jerk reaction to the idea of war.
War is hell, I think Sherman said, and waging it is no picnic for either side. It's insulting that anyone purports the accusation that there are leaders gunning to get their countrymen killed. And it's infantile to claim that war must be moral. War is never moral - in conception or execution. Unfortunately, it is sometimes necessary. And this is one of those times. Here is my opinion on some of the reasons:
UN Resolution 1441
Saddam Hussein will never comply with the UN's order to disarm. He has a hold on Iraq through fear and military might. To give up his weapons is, to him, giving up his security. And no one has really been bothering him for a dozen years about it. Why now? Diplomacy just doesn't work on this guy. He's the bully who only responds to a punch in the nose and being forcibly kicked off the playground.
September 11
Terrorism has no home country, no capitol. In order to prevent even the conception of future attacks, the US has to adopt an aggressive policy of smacking down terrorist supporters. The Middle East does not love us, true, and the blow back has come to haunt us. But nothing we can do, short of becoming a Muslim state, will win their love. Our only option is to be too threatening of a target.
Oil
I found it a little ironic that the SciFi Channel is running "Dune" this week. The spice must flow. Without oil, no one would care a bit about the Middle East, but it's also because of the wealth generated by that oil that Saddam is able to afford to be the threat that he is.
Human Rights Violations
Rectifying this is, in all blunt honesty, more of a perk than a reason. There are many horrific things going on around the world that the United States does not send in the 82nd Airborne to fix. But Iraq is one nasty place to call home right now and the people there will be much better off without Saddam Hussein.
The Pope disagrees with me, according the Reuters bulletin this afternoon that "countries that decide to wage war on Iraq without a global consensus must take responsibility before God and history." Personally, I'm appalled at John Paul II. Eighteen months ago he went easy on his clerical hierarchy who had conspired to conceal a long history of sexual molestation of children. Now he's defending a monster. I have begun to seriously consider taking my boys to an Episcopal church.
And speaking of my boys - their Baby Einstein video is almost up and so is my time here.
