Weblog
02/16/03 10:35 PM: Opinion on Iraq
I have been promising this to a few people, for a few days, so I thought I would best just try and hammer it out in one sitting. This is not a preprepared statement on the situation in Iraq, but more of a general piece on my current feelings and why I feel the way I do.
As have seen, from my recent posts, I am leaning towards towards supporting action against Saddam Hussein in Iraq. One needs to preface this with the statement that while I feel there is a justified reason for force against Saddam, I do not necessarily support, verbatim, the plans for war as devised by President Bush. Nor do I agree with his means of justifying the war on Iraq.
I have long felt that the peace movement in the United States against the possible war in Iraq is misguided. It is misguided, because it seems to lack a clear purpose. I am addressing namely people who are opposed to war in Iraq, but not war in general. The pacifist issue is something far more complex, and something I do not wish to address at this point. The peace movement lacks a purpose, because I am unsure what “peace” they are attempting to maintain. There is certainly a lack of peace within Iraq, where what perhaps could resemble peace is only affected at the hands of a ruthless dictator.
Are we referring simply to peace as, the U.S. not going to war? Is this a movement to “protect our boys,” and to avoid military action? Ok, I can buy that. However, at the same time, these people tend to be lofty idealists who when not protesting war, are busy protesting free trade or sweatshops (Yet another issue, which I will not touch on now). I lack to see how the exploitation of people by a multinational corporation is so much worse than the exploitation of the citizens of Iraq by Saddam Hussein. To argue against a war, because we may suffer some casualties is a reasonable argument, however, but one must realize this is a rather selfish argument. It forces the point that the lives of our military are more valuable (and, at least in a 5 or 10 to 1 ratio) than the people of Iraq. If you are willing to admit that, then I can respect your antiwar argument.
Even if Saddam Hussein has no weapons of mass destruction, or even if he handed them all over and somehow proved he no longer was in possession of any, would that make much of a difference? No. The fact still remains, he is a dangerous man with our without weapons of mass destruction. I fail to see why someone who has invaded sovereign nations in the past, and who has acted with such cold blood and malice towards his own people, should be allowed to continue in power.
If Hitler had been pushed back to Germany and out of Poland in 1939, but continued the atrocities within his own country, would that have been justifiable? How can we possibly justify, in the 21st century, allowing things such as what we see in Iraq to occur.
The fact that the U.S. may have to take action on its own, or with the support of only a few countries, is not a sign of the arrogance of the United States, but as a failure of the United Nations. Certifying Saddam Hussein free of weapons will not certify him as someone fit to rule over a country.
My entire point in this is, someone needs to step up and say that we will not stand by and watch as people are denied basic human rights and basic human decency. This is unacceptable. Some will say it is not our role to interfere in the matters of other countries. To them I say, go into Iraq and tell that to the face of the starving child who will die before age five. Tell that to the people who watch generations of poverty stricken children grow up to become suicide bombers. They may think their enemy is the United States, or “the West,” but the true problem is their own leaders. They exploit their own people and paint the west as the scapegoat.
Just as when our forces drove through the streets of Kuwait, when our troops drive through a postwar Baghdad, they will be greeted by thousands of cheering Iraqis who will be flying American flags. This is not an idealist vision, but one based on the experience of the past. They will like us when we win. The years of hatred instilled by their dictators, and reinforced by the millions of deaths from years of bitter and fruitless war, will fade.
I do not seek a U.S. run Iraq. I do not seek a mission to plunder the resources of a foreign country. I do not seek a new wave of American imperialism. I seek a road to peace, and a road to stability for a region of the earth that has never enjoyed the freedom we take for granted each and every day. Bringing democracy and freedom to Iraq, will demonstrate to the rest of the Middle East that peace is possible. That working together for a common goal is possible. That there is an alternative to violence, an alternative to watching generation after generation of martyrs die in vain for a purpose with no future.
It is not a matter of wanting war, but a matter of willingness to take action to secure peace. Ignoring the plight of peoples around the world will not make their suffering end. Ignoring their problems, will, in the end only further the cycle of violence—the cycle that we all seek to end.
The stakes are high, not just in Iraq, but in other regions around the world. It is time that we no longer stand by and say that it’s someone else’s problem, or that it’s their problem and not our problem. It is our problem. It is everyone’s problem. As members of the human race, it becomes our problem.
How can you possibly look at what is going on around the world and turn a blind eye?
