Posted by Editormum on 6 February 2003 in
News Commentary |
∞
Like most people, I find the idea of war abhorrent. Rafts of body bags and carved headstones, razed cities — not an enjoyable thought. I don’t relish the idea of sending my dear brothers and friends off to war; even if they weren’t killed, the psychological damage they would sustain would be as bad as death, maybe worse.
However, I think we may actually need to go to war in the current situation. That is, from what I have seen of the media and of other blogs here, not a very popular opinion. But here’s what I see.
Saddam Hussein keeps making promises that he does not keep. He promised that he would cease making and researching chemical and biological weapons, yet we find continuing evidence that he did not even curtail his activities in these areas. He promised to abide by the UN resolutions regarding the making and stockpiling of nuclear weapons; however, we again find evidence that he has not complied with those resolutions. He agreed to make his country open to the UN weapons inspection teams and to provide accountings of his military resources. Yet the teams have met with resistance, duplicity, and outright lies. His accounts have not tallied with the information that we have from previous sorties, leaving a number of gaps in the list of weapons and the list of scientists working on munitions of various types.
Furthermore, Mr. Hussein has apparently been untruthful about Al Qaeda ties to his country. There have apparently been active Al Qaeda cells and training camps in Iraq, and there is also evidence of ties to other terrorist groups. All of this scares me far more than the specter of war.
I think we have given peace more than a chance. We have given peace 12 years to work out these disagreements and concerns, and we continue to face the same old problems. There comes a point where reasoning with a liar and a bully gives out. I remember an incident from high school.
I was a wimpy girl-child, and hated the thought of a fight. But one day, a girl accused me of calling her an opprobrious name. I denied it, and walked away. She followed me, and I continued to try to reason with her. She persisted. She was bigger than I was, and I was afraid that she would hurt me. Mercifully, the bell rang for class and I escaped. But she was waiting for me after school. As I walked home, she leaped out upon me from a hedge, and said she would teach me to call her such things. Attacked, I screamed and struck wildly out for escape. I had forgotten that there was a “Little Playmate” cooler in my hand from the lunch picnic that day. It connected solidly with her head. I won my freedom at that moment — and for the rest of my time at that school. Just being willing to defend myself, even though my defense was sheer blind panic, made me off-limits to the bullies. I even gained a measure of respect among my peers.
We have not struck out of blind panic. We’ve tried very hard to reason with the person who poses a threat to us. We’ve explained to others who can help support us why we find this person threatening. We’ve walked away while continuing to reason, continuing to makes deals, continuing to try to make the bully back down without resorting to violence. It hasn’t worked.
We have to remember that some bullies understand only violence. Mr. Hussein has no respect for human life, and the threat to his people from sanctions and embargoes has not succeeded in making him come honestly to the bargaining table with us. I am very much afraid that the time has come to strike, carefully, thoughtfully, and with extreme effort to avoid civilian casualty as much as possible. I don’t think we should strike in blind panic, or without a solid plan. But I believe that our leaders are more responsible, more respectful of human life than that. I believe that, if and when we do strike, it will be with specific goals in mind — a campaign of surgical precision, designed to destroy the dangerous arsenals of the enemy while avoiding injury to the innocent. I believe that our leaders are capable of this kind of planning, and I think it may be time for us to encourage them to bring this bully down.
Tags: bullies, fighting, news, Philosophy, True Stories, war
Thinking About the War
Like most people, I find the idea of war abhorrent. Rafts of body bags and carved headstones, razed cities — not an enjoyable thought. I don’t relish the idea of sending my dear brothers and friends off to war; even if they weren’t killed, the psychological damage they would sustain would be as bad as death, maybe worse.
However, I think we may actually need to go to war in the current situation. That is, from what I have seen of the media and of other blogs here, not a very popular opinion. But here’s what I see.
Saddam Hussein keeps making promises that he does not keep. He promised that he would cease making and researching chemical and biological weapons, yet we find continuing evidence that he did not even curtail his activities in these areas. He promised to abide by the UN resolutions regarding the making and stockpiling of nuclear weapons; however, we again find evidence that he has not complied with those resolutions. He agreed to make his country open to the UN weapons inspection teams and to provide accountings of his military resources. Yet the teams have met with resistance, duplicity, and outright lies. His accounts have not tallied with the information that we have from previous sorties, leaving a number of gaps in the list of weapons and the list of scientists working on munitions of various types.
Furthermore, Mr. Hussein has apparently been untruthful about Al Qaeda ties to his country. There have apparently been active Al Qaeda cells and training camps in Iraq, and there is also evidence of ties to other terrorist groups. All of this scares me far more than the specter of war.
I think we have given peace more than a chance. We have given peace 12 years to work out these disagreements and concerns, and we continue to face the same old problems. There comes a point where reasoning with a liar and a bully gives out. I remember an incident from high school.
I was a wimpy girl-child, and hated the thought of a fight. But one day, a girl accused me of calling her an opprobrious name. I denied it, and walked away. She followed me, and I continued to try to reason with her. She persisted. She was bigger than I was, and I was afraid that she would hurt me. Mercifully, the bell rang for class and I escaped. But she was waiting for me after school. As I walked home, she leaped out upon me from a hedge, and said she would teach me to call her such things. Attacked, I screamed and struck wildly out for escape. I had forgotten that there was a “Little Playmate” cooler in my hand from the lunch picnic that day. It connected solidly with her head. I won my freedom at that moment — and for the rest of my time at that school. Just being willing to defend myself, even though my defense was sheer blind panic, made me off-limits to the bullies. I even gained a measure of respect among my peers.
We have not struck out of blind panic. We’ve tried very hard to reason with the person who poses a threat to us. We’ve explained to others who can help support us why we find this person threatening. We’ve walked away while continuing to reason, continuing to makes deals, continuing to try to make the bully back down without resorting to violence. It hasn’t worked.
We have to remember that some bullies understand only violence. Mr. Hussein has no respect for human life, and the threat to his people from sanctions and embargoes has not succeeded in making him come honestly to the bargaining table with us. I am very much afraid that the time has come to strike, carefully, thoughtfully, and with extreme effort to avoid civilian casualty as much as possible. I don’t think we should strike in blind panic, or without a solid plan. But I believe that our leaders are more responsible, more respectful of human life than that. I believe that, if and when we do strike, it will be with specific goals in mind — a campaign of surgical precision, designed to destroy the dangerous arsenals of the enemy while avoiding injury to the innocent. I believe that our leaders are capable of this kind of planning, and I think it may be time for us to encourage them to bring this bully down.
Tags: bullies, fighting, news, Philosophy, True Stories, war