Star-Tribune Editorial on the Iraq War
Here’s a great editorial from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune: The wrong war/Why Iraq was a mistake. Really gets to the heart of the matter.
Bigtime thanks to Mark Richter for the link.
2 Responses to “Star-Tribune Editorial on the Iraq War”
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January 15th, 2004 at 5:50 pm
I am so tired of these conciliatory gestures made by people who want to protest the Iraqi massacre (it wasn’t a war) in a “civil” manner. Ashleigh Banfeild [sic] did it, half the anti-war celebrities did it, and now this writer does it. Why not simply tell the whole truth? Iraqis are no safer now: the country is ruled by thousands of gangs instead of one tyrant, and American forces destroyed damn near every utilitiy the cities had; and they aren’t prepared for police actions in foreign land! And I notice that while the writer laments the American casualties, no mention is made of the thousands of people American soldiers mutiliated and killed. It sucks what happened to “our boys” in this colonial adventure, but a bunch of dirt poor, starving, diseased people have suffered the lion’s share of death and destruction in the past 10 months, and not one of these kiss-up writers seems to give a shit that our money paid for it! You want to hear the real truth? Look up April Glaspie and how Bush I used her to trick Iraq into thinking it had US approval to invade Kuwaitt just like it did Iran. Look up Iraq’s relations with the Regan administration as human rights were ignored there so they could be a bulward against Iran. Look up the Project for a New American Century Report 2000 (O’Neill is nothing) to see how neo-conservatives want to take over half the world. I don’t care what this writer’s opinions are because he/she is just rehashing the same garbage spit out by big media as “counterpoint.” Until people wake up and demand that America hold its leaders accountable for mass murder and until we dismantle the evil empire in favor of a just and strong nation, then we are only going to see more foreign massacre, more dead and maimed soldiers, more slaughtered Arabs, Persians, Africans, East Asians, etc., and a more furious world. Stop being so polite to arrogant warmongers who don’t give a damn for all your civil discourse; start getting mad and demand that they pay for their crimes. Stop sparing the rod.
January 19th, 2004 at 5:45 pm
I think this editorial misses the point of the Iraq war entirely. The Iraq war was not about freeing Iraqis from the tyranny of Saddam (although that is a pleasant side effect). Nor was it about WMD, links to Al Queda, or finishing what Dad started.
The primary strategic purpose of the Iraq war was to provide a catalyst for change in the middle east.
Middle eastern countries are poverty striken, highly socialized, authoritarian regimes where people have very little economic opportunity, no voice in public policy, and generally bleak lives. Through religion, they are systematically manipulated from childhood to blame their situation not on their rulers, but on outsiders (“infidels”).
To end international terrorism, this situation must change. The problem is that Bush can’t get in front of the world and state that he wants to see all the governments of the middle east replaced with democracies — there are too many established interests (political, economic) throughout the world that would make an open policy like this impossible.
The only way to even attempt to accomplish this goal is to do something less obvious. Iraq provided that opportunity. Saddam was a thorn in everyones side, and it was (relatively) easy to pick a fight with him. The occupation of Iraq in turn gives the US an opportunity to attempt to create some semblance of democracy in the middle east. If successful, this could act as a catalyst and spill over into neighboring countries.
Over the course of years and decades, the hope is that a free and democratic middle east, along with the economic opportunity that would follow, would reduce the hatred and violence to a manageable level.
Whether this policy can succeed or not is yet to be seen. Introducing democracy into a culture that may not be ready for it will be a bumpy road for sure.