An interesting discussion has been taking place this week on my earlier (rather emotional) post "The Stench and the Tension".
Coming into the office this morning, a friend down the hall called me in excitedly. "The shock and awe has started!" Shock and awe, shock and awe. We've been hearing these words as the latest buzzphrase of the current action, and it's built up this great expectation of seeing "cool video" like the video that made it out of the gulf last time around. Pardon me for not getting excited about the mass bombing of a city. If war must happen, it should not be celebrated as though it were a movie. Yeah, "it looks cool and things are blowing up." I doubt it would be as much fun if those bombs were coming our way. Lets hope our actions don't bring similar actions back upon us.
Later in the day, I had basically the same discussion with the guy down the hall as I've in the link mentioned above. And it was pretty open on both sides. Yeah, Saddam is bad. Yeah, this war probably would have to happen sooner or later. But did it have to happen under an administration who has pulled out of so many treaties and agreements? Did it really have to happen right now? Couldn't the anniversary of the September 11th attacks have been used to present a plan to the United Nations that proposed to strengthen the ambiguous "War on Terror" to include new United Nation forces and powers that used international strength (instead of just big meetings), knowledge, and community to curb terrorist organizations worldwide, to disarm despots, to charge and try leaders who bring unnecessary suffering to their people (Mugabe, I'm looking at you here. Rwanda, you too!)? If the UN is "weak", Mr. President, why not propose to strengthen it so that it truely is a "United Nations", and not a "United Nations of American Republics" who stand for our way or the highway?
I recognize that I'm not in a position to make such decisions, and I don't envy those who have to make them (those that aren't driven by mad quests for absolute security and hegemony anyways). But I'm glad to be in a country where I can be cynical of our government in hopes to make them accountable for their actions, and in hopes that their actions will be just, even if I don't agree with them.