I said I was looking for reasons not to be disgusted. I've had the good fortune of talking with an Iraqi-American here in Chicago over email a little bit, and he assures me that as long as Saddam and his inner circle are no longer in power when this war ends, life for the people of Iraq will be better. That is heartening.
I've also watched Tony Blair's speech in the House of Commons immediately prior to their vote to support a war. He's a very persuasive speaker, much in the way Bush isn't. There are apparently many reasons not to like him (I don't know what any of them are, but I know a lot of people don't like him), but the guy clearly has his mind together and can defend his points on his feet. That is to be admired, and sought after in our leadership.
Clearly the threat of force was what brought about some sort of compliance with the UN weapons inspectors. Without it, we could just have welcomed more of the same old lying bullshit from Hussein. The more I read, the more I think that this war is at least somewhat justifiable, provided we start doing things right in the areas where we were doing things dead wrong leading up to the war. We just didn't want to wait even a few weeks more to do the boring work of diplomacy.
There's a lot of talk out there of how protesting in the streets, blocking traffic and so forth, is narcisistic, selfish, vile, anti-American, and so on. I agree that there are much more productive ways of making change. The war is on, and the best thing we can do is, first of all, support our people, respect the Iraqis, and hope for as quick and clean a finish as possible. Second, look at what, and especially who, brought us to this point. The liberals need to develop a concrete plan for orchestrating peace in the future. The most vocal conservatives may be largely nuts who would just as soon let the Enrons of the world run the show, but they certainly have plans and resonant rhetoric that is not really matched on the left. We have to be able to take on the conservative agenda head-on, question the actions of this administration, and not accept this bologna of compassionate conservatism.
There's way too much reading out there. The outpouring of support both for our troops and the people of Iraq, from all corners, is important. But let's all remember that the story isn't over a week, a month, or even years after the white flags start flying from Saddam's palace (as I hope they will). We have gotten ourselves into one hell of a mess with this war, and it is going to take some serious statesmanship that we are currently desperately lacking to stem the tide of rage that is steadily building.
Here are a bunch of good links. There are a lot of people out there who know a lot more than I do about the situation. My thinking is developing all the time, and I relish the chance to discuss the current state of my mind with anyone who comes here and reads. Keep the comments coming, please.
Pros and Cons of the War
The Sum Of All Fears
The Arrogant Empire
Electrolite
Charles Dodgson
Recommended reading on some of the facts related to this war from the people at Spinsanity.
Of particular note to me are the facts about the oil supply, which has been cited by many on the left as the big reason for war. I'm not convinced that control of Iraq's oil has nothing to do with this war, but I feel affirmed knowing that the facts point to a slightly less voraciously conspiracy-oriented theory.
There are also interesting bits on public opinion which are heartening to me, knowing that people aren't just blindly following whatever the president says. Most people, prior to the announcement of war yesterday, were in favor of going to war on the condition that the UN approved it first. That hasn't happened, and of course now that we're in the middle of it public opinion has again changed to supporting our people over there, which they absolutely deserve.
Whatever the course of action chosen by our leadership (and make no mistake, I do not agree with our current state of affairs), our men and women in the military deserve our support. I do have to wonder if things would have turned out differently if anyone in this country's high-level leadership (with the exception of Colin Powell) had actually served in a war at any time. As I understand it, none of them has. And no, National Guard is not the same as overseas service, folks.
One more thing that's bothering me. I feel like our administration has gotten a lot of breaks in the past several years. People in the legislature and the press have been supportive and unquestioning as a matter of course, just because "they just took office", or "we've just suffered this major tragedy", or "we're preparing for/in the middle of a war", and just for that reason we should support our them without another word. You're either in support of what Bush and the rest say, or you're with the terrorists/third column/Iraq/Saddam Hussein/etc.
Now, I realize that we as a people need to band together when we're facing adversity in whatever form it takes. I, however, am extremely displeased to see people lose their right to an attorney, their rights to privacy, perhaps their right to get an abortion safely (and yet somehow lose their ability to get birth control--this isn't a problem domestically, but in our foreign policy), their right to affordable health care, their right to have a job that pays the bills and supports the family, and so on.
Freedom is something every living creature deserves. But there are some human beings who have the power to wheedle it away from us a bit at a time in the interest of security, or any number of other vapid motives. That's not what our military is fighting for. They are not fighting this ugly war to protect the rights of the powerful to slowly bleed away the rights from the less powerful.
Questioning authority doesn't mean giving authority a hard time just because for kicks. Those of us who are questioning this country's motives are not freedom haters, we're not terrorists, we don't give comfort to our enemies, and we do not take our freedom for granted. To suggest otherwise is at best insulting.
Now that I've got that out of my system, it's probably time to address some of the comments I've gotten recently.
In this time of war and fear and despair, let us remember that idiocy is not limited to our national leaders. As an example, note this new comment to 10-month old blog entry of mine.
I'm pretty sure I'd never want to live, for very long, anywhere but the US. The freedoms and opportunities we have here are quite extensive, the land is big and beautiful, and the people are lovely.
Today, though, I'm having a tough time believing in my country.
This bellicose behavior by Bush and the other hawkish leaders of this so-called representative democracy is making me sick. We are supposed to be champions of freedom, respectful of the rights of human beings. Oh, except when those human beings don't agree with exactly what "we" want to do.
The UN doesn't want to pass a resolution of war? Okay, we throw down an ultimatum and tell everyone else to get the hell out, or face mortal danger. Even if the UN did try pass a resolution, France wants to veto it? Okay, France is a lily-livered country of cowards. Let's rename our french fries freedom fries.
Is Saddam Hussein out of his mind? Is he terrible? Has he killed his own people in the past, continuing to rule with an iron fist? Yes, yes, and yes. Would Iraq be better off without him? Probably, although there are no guarantees.
However, if we drop 3000 bombs in the first several hours on Iraq, whose safety is virtually guaranteed? Who is the one person in the entire country who is not going to get killed by any of those weapons of mass destruction? That's right, kids, it's Hussein.
If there were some way just to get rid of Hussein, I might be able to support it. He is a disgusting dictator who does terrible things to his own people. Unfortunately, there's no such option in the real world. And there's no way he's leaving Iraq. Bush knows it -- this business of not going to war if he leaves would be laughable if only it were funny.
If this war starts ("if" sounds so hollow), we are going to have yet another reason never to leave our borders. We may be free here, but as citizens of the world we are far from it. There are lots of places where Americans aren't safe to travel. I know a lot of the people who pose us danger are lunatics, but being an American is not necessarily something to be unequivocally proud of these days. People all over the world are either afraid of us, disgusted by us, or both. What gives us the right to fly over to a country who has never fired a shot at us, or otherwise threatened our security in any meaningful way, and drop a shitload of bombs?
Divine providence? Is God Himself appearing to George Bush telling him that this is the Right Thing To Do? I don't think so.
Bush and the rest are using fear tactics, bribery, and in some cases outright lies to try to bend the wills of the American people, the leaders of other countries, and the people of Iraq. Our military is prepared to absorb a lot of "collateral damage", civilian casualities, in order to break the will of Iraq's civilians and military, to end a war faster. To try to encourage them to overthrow Hussein, I guess.
So, we're willing to kill a bunch of civilians to get rid of a dictator who will be hidden safe away in a bunker surrounded by his imposters and lackies who will gladly be killed before him. We seem not to care that this war is unjust and unsupported anywhere in the world.
So tell me, when did we become the aggressors? Is it wrong to call what we're doing terrorism? How? Someone give me a reason to be proud of my country's leadership today. It just makes me sick.
Open Letter to Bush
No War Blog
Chicago Anti-War
When I was still in the bay area, I played with a band called Blowout. It was my favorite project: good players, original music, and fun. We did a recording just before I left town, which I just found out today got reviewed in SFWeekly. My first critical review. Funny. I wonder if there are any more of these.
Carly is an escape artist, a problem solver.
She can climb fences, as she demonstrated three times last weekend in Michigan.
She can open doors, as she demonstrates every morning as soon as Lisa leaves for school. Granted, the door doesn't latch (it has shrunk because of the winter cold dryness), but she manages to get past the blockades Lisa puts there too.
Today, she chewed off her training collar, somehow. The nose strap is supposed to be loose enough to go almost to the end of the nose, so the dog can still eat, bark, breathe, all that. We had painstakingly fitted it properly, but apparently Carly managed to get it in her mouth tonight and chewed the strap until she was free.
What a pisser. This thing really helps us keep her under control while we're walking -- she doesn't pull hard, she doesn't hunker down to sniff every damn thing she smells, she barks less (although she still does if the people are intimidating), and is generally better behaved. She doesn't like it, but it's much more comfortable than a muzzle, and much more useful in training. So now it's drop twenty or twenty-five clams on a new one, or sew the strap back together on this one.
Smart dogs are a mixed blessing. It's a good thing she's cute.