Campy's Editorial Page
War and Peace
Mixed messages from the "opponents" of war
(Picture: Jim Ruymen/Reuters)
February 17, 2003
By Matt McGowan
"Neither
the United States of America nor the world community of nations can tolerate
deliberate deception and offensive threats on the part of any nation large or
small. We no longer live in a world where the actual firing of weapons
represents a sufficient challenge to a nation's security to constitute maximum
peril."
-President John F. Kennedy, Oct. 21, 1962.
As the U.S. and British coalition
moves ever closer to war with Iraq, we are seeing a rise in the number and size
of anti-war protests around the world. In free societies such as ours, this is
what we call Freedom of Speech, and it is a beautiful thing. Indeed, thousands
of people taking to the streets to voice their opposition to any of their
government’s policies is not a welcome sight in very many countries around the
world, yet such actions are celebrated here in the U.S. Truly, we Americans are
blessed to live in such a free country where open debate is not only allowed,
but encouraged.
Yet, many people in our country do not seem to understand
that with freedom comes responsibility. Everyday, we hear the slogans from the
anti-war crowd: “Bush is a moron …..No blood for oil ……..Stop the U.S. Racist
War”, etc. No one is ever held accountable for these types of statements; they
are simply reported and accepted. (At least by the mainstream press.
Click the link at the end of this article to hear someone actually challenge
some protesters on these statements.) We hear the U.S. accused of unilateral
“war-mongering”, despite the fact that the U.N. Security Council voted
unanimously on a resolution granting Iraq one last chance to cooperate with an
inspection regime it has deceived for over a decade.
This is what happens when good-hearted people (and some not
so good-hearted people) begin to take their own freedom for granted.
No one wants war, least of all George W. Bush. If all the
United States and its allies wanted was cheap, abundant oil, we could simply
follow France’s lead and push for the lifting of oil-export sanctions against
Iraq, then begin pulling our forces out of the Gulf. Oil prices would plummet
instantly due to the increase in supply, and the stock market would surge due to
both cheap oil and the end of war fears. The result would be a gigantic boost to
the economy, putting Bush and the GOP on the path to continued dominance of the
White House and Congress in 2004 and beyond.
But oil is not what this is about, and it even goes beyond
Iraq’s pursuit of weapons of mass destruction. It is about Saddam Hussein. True,
if we remove Hussein by force, people will surely die, and some will be
innocent. But the consequence of not taking action is that Saddam stays in
power, free to continue his atrocities against the Iraqi people. This is a
country where every year tens of thousands of political prisoners languish in
appalling conditions in Saddam's jails and are routinely executed. Where in the
past 15 years over 150,000 Shia Muslims in Southern Iraq and Muslim Kurds in
northern Iraq have been butchered; with up to four million Iraqis in exile round
the world.
In a letter sent to British Prime Minister Tony Blair,
recounted in the press, a member of the family of one of those four million
Iraqi exiles addresses the anti-war movement:
“You may feel that America is trying
to blind you from seeing the truth about their real reasons for an invasion. I
must argue that in fact, you are still blind to the bigger truths in Iraq.
Saddam has murdered more than a million Iraqis over the past 30 years, are you
willing to allow him to kill another million Iraqis?”
“Saddam rules Iraq using fear--he regularly imprisons,
executes and tortures the mass population for no reason whatsoever--this may be
hard to believe and you may not even appreciate the extent of such barbaric
acts, but believe me you will be hard pressed to find a family in Iraq who have
not had a son, father, brother killed, imprisoned, tortured and/or ‘disappeared’
due to Saddam's regime.”
“Why it is now that you deem it appropriate to voice your
disillusions with America's policy in Iraq, when it is right now that the Iraqi
people are being given real hope, however slight and however precarious, that
they can live in an Iraq that is free of its horrors?”
Another letter was sent to P.M. Blair by Dr. Safa Hashim, who
said he was writing despite fears of Iraqi retribution:
“The level of their suffering is
beyond anything that (the West) can possibly envisage, let alone understand his
obsession to develop and possess weapons of mass destruction. Do the
(protesters) know that it is normal practice for Saddam's regime to demand the
cost of the bullet used of in the execution of their beloved family members and
not even to allow a proper funeral?”
“If the international community does not take note of the
Iraqi people's plight but continues to address it casually this will breed
terrorism and extremism within the Iraqi people. This cannot be allowed to
happen.”
Which brings me to another point on many of these protest
groups. Did you know that Bill Clinton launched more cruise missiles into
Iraq in 1998 (around the time of his impeachment hearings coincidentally) than
the total number of cruise missiles that were used during the entire Gulf War?
Where was the international outcry from those that say they only care about the
Iraqi people in 1998? Why have their been no demonstrations before or
since against the brutal rule of Saddam Hussein? It really seems to me
that most of the protesters we are seeing now are in reality only interested in
protesting one thing; George W. Bush and America. They're protesting a
Republican president and conservative Republican power. They don't give a
damn about the Iraqi people, and never have.
As I stated before, I respect the right of all people to
protest, but please, don't protest on behalf of the Iraqi people.
The Iraqi people have been slaughtered by the hundreds of thousands, including
with the use of weapons of mass destruction, by Saddam Hussein for decades. This
will no doubt continue if Hussein is permitted to remain in power. As Blair
himself puts it, “if the result of peace is Saddam staying in power, not
disarmed, then I tell you there are consequences paid in blood for that decision
too. But these victims will never be seen. They will never feature on our TV
screens or inspire millions to take to the streets. But they will exist
nonetheless.”
Then again, if Saddam is left unchecked in his pursuits of
weapons of mass destruction, maybe the victims will be seen a lot more “up close
and personal” than anyone cares to imagine.
Sources:
U.K. Labour Party website http://www.labour.org.uk
National Review Online http://www.nationalreview.com
Click here to hear why one protester changed his mind on war
British MP now backs war after meeting victims of Saddam's torture
"Why I Didn't March This Time" by Nat Hentoff
A message from the American Islamic Congress about Iraq
Is anyone listing to the Voice of Iraqis - A Special Report
Who are these people?-The Anti-War Protests' Hidden Sponsors
Click here for some words of wisdom from Ronald Reagan
It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has
given us freedom of the
press.
It is the soldier, not the
poet, who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the soldier, not the campus organizer,
who has given us freedom to demonstrate.
It is the soldier who salutes the flag, who
serves beneath the flag and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the
protester to burn the flag.
Click here to Support your Troops by writing them a letter
IIf you have an idea for a column, or would like to submit one for consideration, click here.
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