Reflecting

I agree wholeheartedly with Rachel Maddow (via Joe.My.God.):


This, for those who have not read back that far, is the post I put up on March 19, 2003--the day the United States invaded Iraq:

I watched the news tonight with a sick feeling in my stomach. I do not agree with this war that our president and his supporters seem so hell-bent on. But I also realise that it is inevitable. I thought so from the moment Bush was declared the winner in the election-long before the attacks of September 11th. I only hope that it may be accomplished without the loss of innocent lives. I rather think that is a faint hope--so the people of the Middle East and our soldiers and those of our allies are very much in my thoughts and prayers tonight.

As much as I am against this war (for I do not believe it is a just one, or one that must be fought to avert an imminent threat to my country), I don't agree with those who would protest by disrupting daily life. After all, that seems to be more a tactic that terrorists would approve. I guess I'm more of the candlelight vigil-type peacenik than the sign-waving type. Or maybe the pick-up-the-pieces-do-what-you-can-in-the-aftermath sort. And as a child of the Vietnam Era, I can't support verbal or other attacks on our soldiers, even though we have an all-volunteer military these days. After all, many of them joined up to see if they could get money for school or otherwise better life for themselves and their families. Most gung-ho idiots I've ever known who really wanted to go to war were singularly unsuited for military life and were drummed out or never accepted in the first place.

I did not agree with the Gulf War, but at least in that case Iraq had invaded a neighbouring country; and I was frustrated that to have started everything in motion they didn't "finish" it by removing Hussein. I felt that we (and by we, I mean the UN, rather than the US alone) should have intervened in Bosnia long before we did). I am not a pacifist. I would cheer the Iraqis if they rose up against Saddam Hussein. But I'm not sure the US has a right to go barrelling into another country virtually unilaterally. I mean, how would we feel if someone did that to us? I'm sure we'd cry foul. I hate to see the US government play up world unity and the UN when it suits its purpose, but then pretend that it doesn't have to play by anyone else's rules. And I certainly don't think it's honourable to do so.

So for now, the world waits. I'm still not convinced that it will be quick like the supposed authorities say. Certainly if Iraq uses any type of weapon it wasn't supposed to have a lot of other countries will join in. I can see where the war of worlds and dares and all the buildup can go far before the first bullet is fired. If the intent is to occupy Baghdad, though, it may be another matter. Big countries with lots of power often run afoul of things when they think they can go traipsing into that area (think of Russia in Afghanistan as the most recent example). We have the might, but they have the turf.

I just don't know where this will lead. I'm almost numb with the possibilities--and I'm not even directly affected. I think our world needs a bit of luck and perhaps divine intervention to make it through this new century, though.

Nothing about how I feel has changed, and I think I was right. I'm sure a lot of people who did make horrible decisions feel the same, and maybe they can sleep at night. But I'm glad I didn't send thousands of people to their death over political machinations.

I hope that despite it all, the people of Iraq can hold things together on their own and achieve democracy--something they'll have to do on their own, ultimately; it can't really be imposed. But I still have a sick feeling about what might happen now that we've officially left. The situation is extremely complex and has a history going back not just decades but far beyond. I just hope things improve, but that hope is a little faint.