Ok, let's cut to the chase. This is the last Iraq-war-related pre-war post from my old blog. I posted it on 17 Mar 2003, two days before the United States of America invaded Iraq. I was 22 years old at the time, and not too long prior to this I had a naïve and hopeful outlook on life. That naiveness was quickly being replaced with great cynicism and pessimism. The buildup to the Iraq war was far from the only reason for the drastic change in my outlook, but it was certainly a significant part of the overall reason. Anyway, enough intro, here's the post.
You can probably tell by now that I was very strongly against the Iraq war. If you're interested at all in what I think about it now, check back in a few days. At least some of my current thoughts about it will be up within a week, at most.War is imminent. Others have been saying it for quite some time now – days, weeks, even months. Time has passed and it has not happened. War has not yet begun in earnest. For the first time since this whole mess began I can now honestly say that I believe we are on the brink of war with Iraq.
War. How a single three-letter word can invoke so many emotions, fears, hopes, and ideas is beyond me. Yet, it does. A complete and thorough understanding of what war is, does, could be, will be, and should be is beyond even the best of us. We all strive, each in our own way and to varying degrees, to arrive at an understanding of what war means to us as an individual and as part of a larger circle, that circle usually being family. For some this may be nothing more than watching the nightly news and believing whatever it is that they may be reporting and the potential consequences that they also report. For others, in addition to watching the mainstream media, this may also mean reaching out across the globe to all parts of the world and people from all walks of life to obtain information, then struggling to somehow iron out the inconsistencies that are sure to arise, questioning the information that comes from many sources along with the motives for reporting it, and eventually deciding what has enough substance to believe and what should be discarded. For some who take the latter route, it is bound to challenge the very core of their beliefs and ideals. This, in turn, will cause minor changes or even fundamental changes in the beliefs of an even smaller set of people. Then, of course, there is the vast majority who take a path somewhere in between the two extremes listed above.
Is there any one approach that is the right approach? Perhaps not. The issue of right and wrong in this case is a highly subjective issue dependent on the individual involved. Although I do personally believe that an investigation and review of any issue that ends up challenging your beliefs has a lot going for it. Unfortunately, the realities of life mean that we cannot take that route for all issues, most issues, or for some, any issues at all.
Why am I saying all of this? What is the point? I don’t really know. I guess I just wanted to jot down some of my thoughts as our nation stands on this precipice. That, and share them with others just in case anyone happens to be interested in them.
Perhaps a person’s views of a war are dependent on the level of research they do into the matter. Or perhaps they are totally irrelevant, having no consequence whatsoever on the other. I suspect that the answer lies somewhere in between.As we stand here poised to strike, a torrential flood of emotions is pouring forth from my inner depths, some of them justified, some perhaps not.
Anger. Anger that my government is about to preemptively attack another country. Anger that my government did not, judging from the available signs, seriously consider the legitimate, viable alternatives that were present. Anger that my government’s actions are spawning many more terrorist recruits than normal. Anger that my government’s actions are alienating us from the rest of the world and destroying an important international system that we ourselves have helped to build. Anger at the dictator who could have helped prevent this but did not.
Fear. I must profess to feeling a small amount of fear in regards to what may happen as a direct or indirect result of war. Our civil liberties have already been trampled upon and I fear that it will only grow worse. Fear that Hussein, al Qaida, North Korea, or some other country or group will unleash an attack – conventional or otherwise – against us. Perhaps most of all, fear of the unknown.
Joy. Joy for the oppressed Iraqi people who will no longer live under an oppressive regime – if all goes according to plan. Joy for the Iraqi’s imprisoned and tortured who will be freed – if we find them.
Pain and hurt. Pain for the innocent people that are sure to die as a result of our actions, whether directly or indirectly. Pain for our soldiers who will suffer physically, mentally, and emotionally because of this war. Hurt because I, in many ways, feel betrayed by a country that I love.
Hope. Hope for a better future for all involved.
Faith. Faith that somehow, someway, God will work through all of this and the end result – if there ever is one – will somehow be a good one.
But even more so than all the others, I feel a great sense of sadness. Sadness that we are actually doing this. Sadness that I am powerless to do anything about it. Sadness because of all of the innocent people who will die. Sadness for those whose lives will be negatively affected in a very profound way because of this. Sadness because I was naïve enough to expect more from my country and I was let down. Sadness for all those who are still naïve about what happens “behind the scenes” because most will eventually find out and then wish they never had. Sadness and an occasional wish to be able to return to that naïve state. I have forgotten what it is like. It must be nice. I can’t go back though, even if I want to (which I don’t).
Just heard the news. 48 hours for Hussein to leave the country. It will not happen. We’ll be at war within the next week. I find it doubtful that we’ll attack as soon as the 48 hours is up. I think we’ll wait a little bit to make him wonder when it will happen. But it will happen within days.
I have never disputed the point that Saddam Hussein is a dangerous man with dangerous weapons. Never. I once disputed the possibility of him having WMDs, but not for all that long and I still acknowledged that he had dangerous weapons. I have never once said that it would be a good thing for him to stay in power. It isn’t.
Too many people apparently see this situation as good choice vs. bad choice. That’s not what it is. This is a bad choice vs. bad choice situation. We’re dealing with two – or more – evils here and ideally we would choose the lesser of those two evils.
A war against Iraq will – most likely – succeed in removing Saddam Hussein from power assuming that is our objective, which we have been told it is. That is all fine and good. We remove Saddam Hussein from power, the evil dictator is no more, and – voilà – suddenly everything in Iraq and the rest of the world is fine and good. Uh-uh. It doesn’t work that way. If it did then I would support the war against Iraq. Do some digging into what the other, rarely-mentioned consequences are of this war and you’ll see what I mean.
I’m starting to just reiterate many of the things I’ve said in the past so I’ll stop now.
My biggest question now is no longer “Is war preventable?”, but instead “What is my place in all of this?” now that war is going to start.
