An American's Dilemma

by Baron Earl

2003-01-28 10:21:48

Liberty

I would like to see Iraq without Saddam Hussein or his heirs in power.

I would like to see sanctions against Iraq lifted -- but only after Saddam is gone. I would not want someone like Saddam Hussein to be able to spend the oil wealth of Iraq on weapons that might be used against the citizens of my country. I would like to see the oil wealth of Iraq spent on making the lives of Iraqi citizens better.

I would like to see a democratically-elected government in Iraq. A government that guarantees basic humans rights to its citizens. A government that tolerates and respects all of its citizens. A government of the Iraqi people, by the Iraqi people, and for the Iraqi people.

I am not philosophically opposed to war. I am glad that the American Revolutionaries fought the British and started our country. I am glad that the Union Army fought the Confederacy in order to stamp out slavery in this country and preserve the Union.

I am glad that we fought Nazi Germany and Imperialist Japan and eliminated their governments from the face of the earth. Their goals were evil. Their methods were evil. Their systems were evil. I am glad that they're gone.

I am also glad that we have managed to heal these old wounds, that the British, Germans, and Japanese are now our friends, trading partners, and allies. I am glad that race relations are improving in the South and in the rest of this country, even though I wish the pace of improvement was a bit faster.

I am not philosophically in favor of war. Wars don't always go as planned, and no matter how overwhelming you feel our military may be, we haven't won every time we've gone into battle. Wars aren't always fought for just reasons. For every just and noble reason you can think of to go to war, you can also come up with greedy, self-interested, imperialistic reasons to go to war.

I do not want to go to war with Iraq. I also do not want to leave Saddam Hussein in power, free to develop nastier and deadlier weapons.

I am an American, and this is my dilemma.

aaron@pigdog.org