Currently playing on my Winamp - Bombs over Baghdad

Baseball is so close I can breath it. And fantasy baseball is already alive and kicking. That leaves me too excited to write a new blog. So I will dig into my reserves and release the first of my promised political blogs. Assuming I don't get stoned for expressing my opinion, I'll probably eventually release the others.

Political Blog #1 - War on Iraq?

For months now, the top debate in this country (and maybe the world) has been the issue of "disarming" Saddam Hussein and his weapons of mass destructions. We've seen UN Resolutions, we've seen weapons inspectors sent, Bush's State of the Union speech and plenty of rhetoric in regards to the question of whether or not we need to use military force on Iraq. A few weeks ago, "chemical warheads" were found, and the world braced for war. Not too long after that, Saddam Hussein vowed to "break the neck" of America if war were to occur. Not too long ago, Colin Powell presented the UN with intelligence showing how Iraqi officials have been grossly misleading and deceiving UN inspectors. President Bush has given Saddam "one last chance", the UN has given "one last chance", and now the EU has given "one last chance".

And after all this, what? Absolutely nothing has happened. Every day, I read and watch the news, and it's the same thing. United States and Great Britain trying to prove that Iraq is not disarming and force is necessary, the other major countries reluctant to follow. The Iraqi UN Ambassador claiming that George Bush and Tony Blair are lying, that Iraq has disarmed and has no weapons of mass destruction. The American people being polled and saying they would only support war if the UN backed it.

Now, I should mention that I work at a large defense contractor which is (supposedly) in a position to benefit from this potential war. Maybe this is a fact that would sway my opinion. But, in all honesty, I am writing this with as little bias as I can imagine. In reality, Northrop Grumman does not gain in direct relation to what happens in Iraq; its fate lies in the hands of existing contracts and the federal defense budget in coming years. Even if it did, the effect that such a gain would have on me as an individual is rather minimal. So everything that I am writing is based on how I feel and have felt anyways, independent of where I'm working.

So how do I feel about war on Iraq? Well, first of all, let's not kid ourselves here - this whole thing is not all about removing weapons of mass destruction or saving the Iraqi people from the oppression from evil Saddam. There's plenty of countries in this world that are developing these weapons, and there's plenty of evil rulers out there besides Saddam. North Korea is only the most recently available example. If there was anything worth fighting for in North Korea, believe me, we would've hit those fools a long time ago. But all they have is an evil leader, a lot of starving and suffering people, and a bunch of missiles aimed at the South. That's about it, and sadly it's not enough to make that situation a priority.

But with that said, I still believe we need to support our president in this cause, however tainted his intentions may be. First of all, it's annoying to listen to some of the people talk about why we shouldn't to go to war. They're led by "celebrity activists", 95% of whom don't know jack about the real world. Inevitably, you end up hearing things like "this doesn't affect me" or "I don't see a 'smoking gun' that requires us to go to war".

People, it's been less than 2 years since we watched our own planes being flown into the tallest buildings in our largest city, causing mass chaos and killing thousands of American citizens within our very own country in which we are supposed to feel so safe in. It's been only 60 years since the world narrowly escaped being overrun by Nazis and Japanese imperialists while the American people sat around saying "this war doesn't have anything to do with me".

Is it going to take another 9/11, another Pearl Harbor to wake up this lazy and ignorant public consciousness? Let's face it, things that happen around the world do affect us, one way or another. Guys like Saddam having VX and nerve gas does matter. Why sit around waiting until things have built up beyond our control to do something? Certain disasters are preventable, but not by people standing by and looking the other way.

Now, it doesn't help that Saddam Hussein is one of the shadiest men on this planet right now. Whether or not he starves and tortures his own people, I don't know for sure. But from the Gulf War experience, we do know that the guy has no qualms about using chemical and biological weapons if he has them. We know that he was crazy enough to set his own oil fields on fire when defeat was imminent. Do you think we should sit around and wait for a guy like him to build up weapons of mass destruction? Removing a guy like him from power would be doing his people, and the world a giant favor anyways.

So while this potential war on Iraq might still be more oil-motivated than anything, it is not without other justifications. If you are against war, I urge you to stop and think for a moment, why? If it's because you think this subject doesn't affect you, think again. If it's reluctance to serve your country, shame on you. As for me, I may not agree wholeheartedly with this war, and I might not like everything the President is saying. But I strongly believe in supporting our leader in this situation, not undermining his authority. "United we stand, Divided we fall." Right now we see not only a nation, but a world divided, because of what? Because there's no overt "smoking gun"? Because he doesn't have nukes? Because he hasn't yet made any attacks on American soil?

Nobody likes to go to war. But we would not be sitting here, enjoying our freedoms, watching Joe Millionaire and the Bachelorette, were it not for brave souls who fought the Revolutionary War. We would probably still have slavery if the Civil War was never fought. No, war was not "necessary" in either case either, and yes, innocent people died in those wars. But it was for the greater good of mankind. This Iraq situation may not be as noble as fighting for liberty or to free slaves, but I believe it will improve the lives of many (including the Iraqis themselves) and provide greater security and stability in this world. I end with just the following quote, one of my favorites:

"All that is necessary for the forces of evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing" - Edmund Burke, English philosopher