[Vision2020] Your Position on the War in Iraq
Joan Opyr
auntiestablishment@hotmail.com
Fri, 28 Mar 2003 13:57:59 -0800
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Mark Rounds writes:
"I realize that this is a dollar answer to a nickle question Garret, but =
the
bottom line is that while I thought the rush to war was premature, we are
there and the best way to win this with the least loss of life is to purs=
ue
the conflict in a slow and measured manner. So yeah, I have swung from
opposing the war to supporting our troops and methodology because from wh=
ere
we are now, it is the best strategy in terms of loss of human life and
achievement of something for this effort."
As so often seems to be the case, I find myself largely in agreement with=
Mark. Though I oppose the war, my gut feelings about it are ambiguous, =
and I suspect, whether we=E2=80=99re pro or con, that many of us share a =
general sense of uneasiness. So far, between 250 and 335 Iraqi civilians=
have been killed, and nearly fifty U.S. and British soldiers are either =
dead, POW, or MIA. This is tragic. It also concerns me that most of the=
coverage we see on television, particularly from embedded reporters, ten=
ds to sweep the lay viewer up into the excitement and the adrenaline. Se=
eing footage of American POWs (I watch the BBC, which showed the intervie=
ws in their entirety), as well as pictures of dead soldiers and civilians=
, has a very different effect. Switching back and forth between CNN, the=
BBC, and international print coverage is making me manic-depressive, but=
perhaps that=E2=80=99s how I ought to be in the current context. =
=20
=20
Saddam Hussein is dreadful, and he needs to be removed from power. Knowi=
ng that our government helped to install him in the first place is A) no =
comfort, and B) no excuse for not acting to remove him. Where I differ f=
rom the pro-war camp is in terms of method. I=E2=80=99m not convinced th=
at the only way to get him out of there was a military intervention. Do =
I believe that inspections on their own would have worked? No. And sanc=
tions, as they were previously constructed and enforced, weren=E2=80=99t =
working either, but when Colin Powell first became Secretary of State, he=
proposed establishing so-called =E2=80=9Csmart sanctions.=E2=80=9D Swin=
ging UN support behind those, however, would have required the concerted =
effort and backing of the Bush administration. Powell didn=E2=80=99t get=
that support, and the idea was soon tabled. Would smart sanctions have =
worked? Who knows=E2=80=94but they were damn sure worth a shot. As for =
our efforts on the diplomatic road, even accounting for French intransige=
nce, we clearly did not put our best foot forward. We could have survive=
d a French veto in the U.N. Security council with our influence intact if=
we had managed to get a majority on our side; the fact that we didn't te=
lls us more about George Bush than it does about Jacques Chirac.
=20
All of that said, and with opposition still firm, it's my belief that now=
that we have troops on the ground, we have to press on in the prosecutio=
n of this war. Not only can we not bring our troops home until we win, w=
e can=E2=80=99t bring them home until Iraq is reconstructed and stable. =
I=E2=80=99m not happy about it, but I think this is the pragmatic view. =
What I fear now is our short attention span. We hung the Iraqis out to d=
ry after the first Gulf war, and our work still isn=E2=80=99t done in Afg=
hanistan. Hamid Karzai was here recently begging George Bush for money a=
nd more military aid=E2=80=94he didn=E2=80=99t get it=E2=80=94and to remi=
nd us of the fact that he only has control of Kabul. In the rest of Afgh=
anistan, the warlords are back; Al Qaeda and the Taliban never really lef=
t. With looming U.S. budget deficits and what looks more and more like a=
double-dip recession, how deep will our commitment to these faraway plac=
es be?
=20
I=E2=80=99ll be at Saturday=E2=80=99s peace rally, not to stop the war bu=
t to do whatever I can to keep opposition to the Bush administration revv=
ed up. I can support the troops (and wish them safety and success) witho=
ut supporting the president. While G.W. is enjoying a rally-round-the-fl=
ag effect, he=E2=80=99s pushing through another collection of devastating=
tax cuts, further assaults on civil liberties, and cuts to Medicaid, Med=
icare, and military benefits. Like Tom, I=E2=80=99m utterly opposed to B=
ush=E2=80=99s domestic agenda. I don=E2=80=99t want to see him ride this=
war into a second term.
Joan Opyr =20
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<HTML><BODY STYLE=3D"font:10pt verdana; border:none;"><DIV> </DIV> <=
DIV><FONT face=3D"Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif">Mark Rounds writes:</FONT></=
DIV> <DIV><BR><FONT face=3D"Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif">"I realize that th=
is is a dollar answer to a nickle question Garret, but the<BR>bottom line=
is that while I thought the rush to war was premature, we are<BR>there a=
nd the best way to win this with the least loss of life is to pursue<BR>t=
he conflict in a slow and measured manner. So yeah, I have swung fr=
om<BR>opposing the war to supporting our troops and methodology because f=
rom where<BR>we are now, it is the best strategy in terms of loss of huma=
n life and<BR>achievement of something for this effort."</FONT></DIV> <DI=
V><FONT face=3D"Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif"></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT=
face=3D"Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif">As so often seems to be the case=
, I find myself largely in agreement with Mark. </FONT><FONT f=
ace=3D"Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif">Though I oppose the war, my gut feeling=
s about it are ambiguous, and I suspect, whether we=E2=80=99re pro or con=
, that many of us share a general sense of uneasiness.<SPAN style=3D"mso-=
spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>So far, between 250 and 335 Iraqi civilians =
have been killed, and nearly fifty <?xml:namespace prefix =3D st1 ns =3D =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:country-region><st1:p=
lace>U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> and British soldiers are eithe=
r dead, POW, or MIA.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This =
is tragic.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It also concern=
s me that most of the coverage we see on television, particularly from em=
bedded reporters, tends to sweep the lay viewer up into the excitement an=
d the adrenaline.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Seeing f=
ootage of American POWs (I watch the BBC, which showed the interview=
s in their entirety), as well as pictures of dead soldiers and civilians,=
has a very different effect.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </S=
PAN>Switching back and forth between CNN, the BBC, and international=
print coverage is making me manic-depressive, but perhaps that=E2=80=
=99s how I ought to be in the current context.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun=
: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> <=
/SPAN><SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN style=3D=
"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> =
</SPAN><SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN style=3D=
"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">=
</SPAN><SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><=
SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT> <P class=3DMs=
oNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><?xml:namespace prefix =3D o ns =3D=
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p><FONT face=3D"Geneva, A=
rial, Sans-serif"> </FONT></o:p></P> <P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"M=
ARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=3D"Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif">Saddam Husse=
in is dreadful, and he needs to be removed from power.<SPAN style=3D"mso-=
spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Knowing that our government helped to instal=
l him in the first place is A) no comfort, and B) no excuse for not actin=
g to remove him.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Where I d=
iffer from the pro-war camp is in terms of method.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spac=
erun: yes"> </SPAN>I=E2=80=99m not convinced that the only way to g=
et him out of there was a military intervention.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacer=
un: yes"> </SPAN>Do I believe that inspections on their own would h=
ave worked?<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>No.<SPAN style=
=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>And sanctions, as they were previous=
ly constructed and enforced, weren=E2=80=99t working either, but whe=
n Colin Powell first became Secretary of State, he proposed establishing =
so-called =E2=80=9Csmart sanctions.=E2=80=9D Swinging UN suppo=
rt behind those, however, would have required the concerted effort and ba=
cking of the Bush administration.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> =
</SPAN>Powell didn=E2=80=99t get that support, and the idea wa=
s soon tabled.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Would smart=
sanctions have worked?<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Wh=
o knows=E2=80=94but they were damn sure worth a shot. As for our ef=
forts on the diplomatic road, even accounting for French intransigen=
ce, we clearly did not put our best foot forward. We could have sur=
vived a French veto in the U.N. Security council with our influence intac=
t if we had managed to get a majority on our side; the fact that we didn'=
t tells us more about George Bush than it does about Jacques Chirac.</FON=
T></P> <P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face=
=3D"Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif"> </FONT></o:p></P> <P class=3DMsoNorm=
al style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=3D"Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif"=
>All of that said, and with opposition still firm, it's my belief that no=
w that we have troops on the ground, we have to press on in the prosecuti=
on of this war.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Not only c=
an we not bring our troops home until we win, we can=E2=80=99t bring=
them home until <st1:country-region><st1:place>Iraq</st1:place></st1:cou=
ntry-region> is reconstructed and stable.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun=
: yes"> </SPAN>I=E2=80=99m not happy about it, but I think this is =
the pragmatic view.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>What I=
fear now is our short attention span.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">&=
nbsp; </SPAN>We hung the Iraqis out to dry after the first Gulf war, and =
our work still isn=E2=80=99t done in <st1:country-region><st1:place>Afgha=
nistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"=
> </SPAN>Hamid Karzai was here recently begging George Bush for mon=
ey and more military aid=E2=80=94he didn=E2=80=99t get it=E2=80=94and to =
remind us of the fact that he only has control of <st1:City><st1:place>Ka=
bul</st1:place></st1:City>.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPA=
N>In the rest of <st1:country-region><st1:place>Afghanistan</st1:place></=
st1:country-region>, the warlords are back; Al Qaeda and the Taliban neve=
r really left.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>With loomin=
g <st1:country-region><st1:place>U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> bu=
dget deficits and what looks more and more like a double-dip recession, h=
ow deep will our commitment to these faraway places be?</FONT></P> <P cla=
ss=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face=3D"Geneva, A=
rial, Sans-serif"> </FONT></o:p></P> <P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"M=
ARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=3D"Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif">I=E2=80=99ll=
be at Saturday=E2=80=99s peace rally, not to stop the war but to do what=
ever I can to keep opposition to the Bush administration revved up.<SPAN =
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I can support the troops (and w=
ish them safety and success) without supporting the president.<SPAN style=
=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>While G.W. is enjoying a rally-round=
-the-flag effect, he=E2=80=99s pushing through another collection of deva=
stating tax cuts, further assaults on civil liberties, and cuts to Medica=
id, Medicare, and military benefits.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">&nb=
sp; </SPAN>Like Tom, I=E2=80=99m utterly opposed to Bush=E2=80=99s domest=
ic agenda. I don=E2=80=99t want to see him ride this war into a sec=
ond term.</FONT></P> <P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><=
FONT face=3D"Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif"></FONT> </P> <P class=3DMsoN=
ormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=3DArial>Joan Opyr</FONT>&n=
bsp;</P><FONT face=3D"Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif"> <BR><BR></FONT></D=
IV></BODY></HTML><br clear=3Dall><hr>Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Exp=
lorer download : <a href=3D'http://explorer.msn.com'>http://explorer.msn.=
com</a><br></p>
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