| War in Iraq Let’s get one thing straight; I am not an intellectual scholar who has all the facts neatly laid out in front of me. Nor am I a politician, an entrepreneur, a man of the cloth or a Nobel Prize winner. I am an opinionated person with average intelligence, with average looks and an average copy of MS Word that includes a nifty spellchecker. I remember September 11th 2001 as if it were yesterday. It started out as a special day as I was awaiting the delivery of my new company car with eager anticipation. Sitting behind my desk at the office, I was counting down the hours till my brand new car would appear. And in came John, one of my coworkers. He had a weird look on his face, his ferret like eyes shifted left and right with paranoid flair like they always did and he blurted out; An airplane has struck a building in New York. You got to understand that John was a person who always loved playing practical jokes on others, and so I took this comment as being just that, a practical joke. Till the phone rang and I was told what had just happened. I managed to log onto CNN.com and get a television feed, just in time to see a second plane plummet into the second tower. My heart stopped beating, I held my breath while images tried to register in my brain. “This can’t be happening!” I thought. But it was, and more was to come. By the time my new car had gotten me home later that afternoon reports had come in telling about the horror of the terrorist attacks committed by Al Quaida. My girlfriend had been frantically trying to reach her sister who lives in Manhattan, but all the lines were blocked or overloaded. Later that evening we got word that the sister was doing well and was far away from ground zero. The world was in shock, stunned and in disbelieve that something atrocious like that could happen these days. Cries rang out for revenge, understandably. President Bush got on the air to inform the citizens of the U.S., and the rest of the world, about what had happened. Eventually he made his “Axis of Evil” speech and all knew that retaliation was near. One and a half year later, U.S. and British forces have entered the demilitarized zone between Kuwait and Iraq, and sirens were rung over Baghdad as the first –of what will be many- air salvos started raining down. Leading up to this morning had been 12 months of UN based inspections in Iraq, trying to track down the supposed arsenal of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). I say supposed as to this point non had been found by the inspectors of the UN. The government of the U.S. felt that Saddam Houssein was leading inspectors on a goose chase, and feared the possibility that these weapons might fall into the hands of terrorist cells. In the Security Council they urged for international mobilization which should lead to the fall of Houssein’s regime. But several permanent members did not feel that an invasion was the way to go. Resolution 1441; a resolution which forced Iraq to dismantle any WMD, chemical or biological, is no more. Countries like France, Russia and Germany made it clear to the U.S. that the inspectors should be granted more time to perform their tasks. France and Russia even threatening to Veto any new resolutions which might be placed before the Council. But you all know this already, or else have been living in a box in the middle of nowhere for the past month or so. War. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing. These words were sung by Bruce Springsteen. These words I ask you. 12 years ago, after the Gulf War ended, Iraq was told that they had to dismantle their WMD arsenal. Up until a couple of months ago, I had not heard a single report regarding this dismantlement of the past 12 years. Post 9-11 the issue became a live on again. After the successful ousting of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, the U.S. started looking towards Iraq as the next phase of eradicating terrorism from today’s civilized society. But why wait 12 years? After all, the Saddam Houssein who is in charge today, is the same Saddam who was in charge 12 years ago. A dictator who had already proven that he wasn’t afraid to use chemical weapons on his enemies. Why wait? Certain people will tell you that the only reason the U.S. wants to invade Iraq is to gain control of the vast oil fields. Others will tell you that destruction of WMD is the reason. Yet again others will feel it is to end a reign of an oppressive regime. And yet again others will make it a combination of these factors or all. Whichever the reason might be, innocent civilians are bound to die. And this was the reason why many countries felt, and still feel, that the 1441 Resolutions should still be upheld. Whether the underlying reasons that Bush jr is so adamant about this war is oil, the destruction of WMD, the ending of a terrible regime, the means to achieve peace in the Middle East, a boost to the opinion polls keeping in mind that next year is an election year, a continuation of what his father started 12 years ago, a combination or all of the above, it does not matter. What matters is how we got to this point, and probably the reason why so many allies are against this war. “Make no mistake about it. You are either with us, or you are against us in the fight against terror.” Nov. 6 2001. What way is that to ask for help? Either you help me beat the crap out of this person, or I will do it myself and then beat the crap out of you. It is a bully method that works on the playgrounds of schools, but does not have a right of existence in the international arena of politics. In a sense you become that which you want to fight, a regime bent of having it your own way. When the declaration of independence was signed, the U.S. became a safe haven for the oppressed. As a nation it grew and prospered, it fought wars and won them. Champion of freedom. Where is that freedom now? Who will feel the whip next? Will it be France? Will century old grudges finally be fought out? The moment a world power starts undertaking actions irregardless of whether the –at that moment active- international forums support it, is that moment we revert back to Draconian methods of politics. Darwin would have a field day. Survival of the fittest indeed. I certainly hope that this war in Iraq, not 12 hours old, will last but another 1 second. That no civilians get injured, that Saddam takes the easy way out by ingesting some poison or eating his own lead, that WMD are found (but not used), that an interim government is introduced that will build up this nation into a harmonious society, that no splinter cell feels this is a carte blanche to attack via terrorist means nations of the west-east-south-north. That the finances spend to support this war is worth it. That the end justifies the means. Hope, that is all we have. … |