While I will always back peace over war, civility over brutality, I know that there are many who do not share this view and rush to violence, disregarding peace time and time again. Like you, I wish this were not true, and I wish we were not going to war, but it's naive to think that this is as simple as choosing between violence and non-violence, since there is potential for either choice to beget either choice.
However, bombs are falling as I write this response. Bush has forced this war upon the world. We suspect that he's doing it for oil, power, or a myriad of other ulterior motives, but he keeps telling us (ad nauseam) that we are fighting tyranny, oppression, and terrorism. My point is that we hold him accountable for what he has said.
While I do not want this war and fear the overall consequences of it, it's an undeniable fact that there would be less violence in the world without Saddam Hussein.
I'm on the right list-serve, but this is the dilemma I am faced with right now as a pragmatic pacifist: Even if the anti-war movement were to somehow miraculously stop the war in Iraq tomorrow, the day after tomorrow Saddam would still be murdering and torturing* his own people. Whereas enduring this war will try my conscience, at least there's the hope for a better life for the Iraqi people without Saddam's reign, the sanctions imposed upon it, and an influx of humanitarians from around the world who will want to help the country re-build (people like us). These are all hopes that are not permitted or possible while Saddam Hussein remains in power.
We all know that there is no such thing as a "just" war. Even in WWII, the U.S. and other allies were guilty same amount of hypocrisy in their motives for war as Bush is today(read "Declarations of Independence" by Howard Zinn), but ultimately it is a good thing that Hitler and the Nazis were defeated.
I can't stress enough that I am OPPOSED TO THE WAR IN IRAQ, but if I were to just close off my mind from the other side of the argument and not even take the time to understand the opposing view point and maybe even find ways that it can benefit my end-goals and beliefs, well then I'd be no better than our president, wouldn't I?
I am just as committed to fighting the Bush administration, not in spite of my belief that Saddam Hussein must be removed for the good of the Iraqi, but because of it. With the threat of al Qaeda and the backdrop of international anger towards the U.S., now more than ever it is important that we show the world that George W. Bush 's lies and hypocrisies are his own. We must ensure that no matter how the war in Iraq unfolds, that the people of the United States of America are committed to helping the Iraqi people; that no matter how much Bush reveals that he is a liar and a hypocrite, that we are not him. If we fail to do so, then Bin Laden will find plenty more recruits willing to further his own twisted goals, which are far more terrifying than those of our current president.
I welcome all the debate in the world from those of you who disagree with my perception, but I don't appreciate the implication that I should unsubscribe and cease to post my thoughts to the list. No cause has ever be advanced by not speaking to those who oppose, or even mildly vary from it.
Sincerely,
Brian Douglas
*Amnesty International Annual Reports on Iraq:
2002 - http://web.amnesty.org/web/ar2002.nsf/mde/iraq!Open
2001 - http://www.web.amnesty.org/web/ar2001.nsf/webmepcountries/IRAQ?OpenDocument
2000 - http://www.web.amnesty.org/web/ar2000web.nsf/countries/24fe8ccc9d037845802568f200552932?OpenDocument
1999 - http://www.amnesty.org/ailib/aireport/ar99/mde14.htm
1998 - http://www.amnesty.org/ailib/aireport/ar98/mde14.htm
1997 - http://www.amnesty.org/ailib/aireport/ar97/MDE14.htm
All Amnesty International Documents on Iraq:
http://web.amnesty.org/ai.nsf/COUNTRIES/IRAQ?OpenView&expandall
On Thursday, March 20, 2003, at 01:18 PM, Dennis Foster wrote:
Mr. Douglas, I think you must be on the wrong listserve.
You say "Let's use their lusty greed for black gold to reach a righteous end and kill Saddam."
This is CNVN -- the Cleveland Non-Violence Network...
Dennis J. Foster
