Tuesday, March 11, 2003
War with Iraq
Since this seems to be contentious issue numbero uno these days, I feel I should write out my thoughts, so I can look back and see if I was right or wrong.
Any readers should feel free to disagree with me. Vehemently, if need be. I’m not here to tell you HOW to think, just to tell you what *I* think. If you disagree, let me know. Maybe you have a point that I missed. Wouldn’t you feel awful if I continued my misguided beliefs, when it was possible for you to correct me?
First, I believe Saddam Hussein is an awful human being. If aliens came to earth, and kidnapped him, and the fate of mankind hung in the balance of what they learn from him, we’re screwed. Hussein is probably not the worst person alive, nor the worst person who has ever lived. Doesn’t mean he’s not a nasty bug that needs to be squashed.
I believe the United States and United Kingdom are doing the right thing by invading Iraq sooner rather than later.
Why?
It has to be done. Saddam Hussein has not complied with the cease-fire he signed in 1991. The cease-fire must be honoured, and if the UN isn’t going to do it, then I see nothing wrong with the US/UK doing so.
Why now? Iraq is under crippling international sanction. People die in scores due to malnutrition and lack of medicine. Iraq has no basic sanitation infrastructure, no sustainable industry to speak of. If the sanctions are not lifted NOW, we condemn Iraqis to living in the hell their country has become.
If the sanctions are lifted without Iraq honouring the UN cease-fire, then no one will honour a UN cease-fire again. Why should they? The only way to lift the sanctions is to remove Saddam Hussein from power, and ensure a new government that will honour the cease-fire is in place. If they’re democratic, so much the better. If they have the interests of innocent Iraqis in mind, so much the better. If they want to turn Iraq into a shining beacon imitated throughout the Mideast, Asia, Africa, the world, so much the better.
Will innocent Iraqis die in the war? Probably. But they’re dying already, would you rather be bombed in an instant or starved over six months?
Will American soldiers die in the war? Of course. They know that, and they go anyway. How dare anyone tell them NOT to do their job? I know full well I can’t make a living as a painter, and yet I love to paint. If anyone told me I couldn’t paint because I will starve to death, I’d spit in their face. These aren’t conscripts. They’re free to leave at any time. (Well, there are rules, but a dishonourable discharge still saves your life.)
Do I agree with George Bush? On a lot of counts, no. Iraq has nothing to do with Al Quida/ 9/11. Iraq DOES support Palestinian terrorism.
Do I think that Israel is right in their treatment of Palestinians? No. But the Palestinians do not help their cause killing innocent people, and hiding weapons factories in residential neighbourhoods.
Back to Bush. He has forced the world into a position where someone has to blink. The USA has the most powerful military ever. If you have the most powerful military, it means nothing if you blink. If no one blinks, then Bush wins, and he knows it. He will not blink, unless someone can let him win by blinking. No one has provided an option for the USA other than war.
The USA cannot keep their troops there indefinitely. It costs money, it keeps families disrupted, it causes tension. They must fight or leave. If they leave, and Saddam is still oppressing his citizens, then the USA loses. If there is a third choice, then I don’t know what it is, and I’m sure George Bush does not know what it is.
Would I go to war? No.
Would I send my son to war? If he chose to, then I would fully support him. If he chose not to, I would be proud of him too.
This is not about oil. It is not about democracy. It is about civilisation. Saddam Hussein rules the land that is known as the cradle of civilisation. And yet few people would consider Iraq to be a cultural, intellectual beacon. Free Iraq to join the world again. Let them become something great. Let them become something nice. Let them show the world what can happen when people are allowed to prosper.
Okay, I’m done.
So… to sum up… Saddam Hussein stinks. I think everything should be done to rid the world of him. Period.
Since this seems to be contentious issue numbero uno these days, I feel I should write out my thoughts, so I can look back and see if I was right or wrong.
Any readers should feel free to disagree with me. Vehemently, if need be. I’m not here to tell you HOW to think, just to tell you what *I* think. If you disagree, let me know. Maybe you have a point that I missed. Wouldn’t you feel awful if I continued my misguided beliefs, when it was possible for you to correct me?
First, I believe Saddam Hussein is an awful human being. If aliens came to earth, and kidnapped him, and the fate of mankind hung in the balance of what they learn from him, we’re screwed. Hussein is probably not the worst person alive, nor the worst person who has ever lived. Doesn’t mean he’s not a nasty bug that needs to be squashed.
I believe the United States and United Kingdom are doing the right thing by invading Iraq sooner rather than later.
Why?
It has to be done. Saddam Hussein has not complied with the cease-fire he signed in 1991. The cease-fire must be honoured, and if the UN isn’t going to do it, then I see nothing wrong with the US/UK doing so.
Why now? Iraq is under crippling international sanction. People die in scores due to malnutrition and lack of medicine. Iraq has no basic sanitation infrastructure, no sustainable industry to speak of. If the sanctions are not lifted NOW, we condemn Iraqis to living in the hell their country has become.
If the sanctions are lifted without Iraq honouring the UN cease-fire, then no one will honour a UN cease-fire again. Why should they? The only way to lift the sanctions is to remove Saddam Hussein from power, and ensure a new government that will honour the cease-fire is in place. If they’re democratic, so much the better. If they have the interests of innocent Iraqis in mind, so much the better. If they want to turn Iraq into a shining beacon imitated throughout the Mideast, Asia, Africa, the world, so much the better.
Will innocent Iraqis die in the war? Probably. But they’re dying already, would you rather be bombed in an instant or starved over six months?
Will American soldiers die in the war? Of course. They know that, and they go anyway. How dare anyone tell them NOT to do their job? I know full well I can’t make a living as a painter, and yet I love to paint. If anyone told me I couldn’t paint because I will starve to death, I’d spit in their face. These aren’t conscripts. They’re free to leave at any time. (Well, there are rules, but a dishonourable discharge still saves your life.)
Do I agree with George Bush? On a lot of counts, no. Iraq has nothing to do with Al Quida/ 9/11. Iraq DOES support Palestinian terrorism.
Do I think that Israel is right in their treatment of Palestinians? No. But the Palestinians do not help their cause killing innocent people, and hiding weapons factories in residential neighbourhoods.
Back to Bush. He has forced the world into a position where someone has to blink. The USA has the most powerful military ever. If you have the most powerful military, it means nothing if you blink. If no one blinks, then Bush wins, and he knows it. He will not blink, unless someone can let him win by blinking. No one has provided an option for the USA other than war.
The USA cannot keep their troops there indefinitely. It costs money, it keeps families disrupted, it causes tension. They must fight or leave. If they leave, and Saddam is still oppressing his citizens, then the USA loses. If there is a third choice, then I don’t know what it is, and I’m sure George Bush does not know what it is.
Would I go to war? No.
Would I send my son to war? If he chose to, then I would fully support him. If he chose not to, I would be proud of him too.
This is not about oil. It is not about democracy. It is about civilisation. Saddam Hussein rules the land that is known as the cradle of civilisation. And yet few people would consider Iraq to be a cultural, intellectual beacon. Free Iraq to join the world again. Let them become something great. Let them become something nice. Let them show the world what can happen when people are allowed to prosper.
Okay, I’m done.
So… to sum up… Saddam Hussein stinks. I think everything should be done to rid the world of him. Period.
// posted by Charlotte @ 1:25:00 PM 
