resurrectionsong

March 26, 2003

Goofy Peaceniks #4

Montana Senator Max Baucus has been a vocal supporter of President Bush in the war with Iraq. Though a Democrat, he ran a fairly conservative campaign (on issues, not on campaign spending), and has been pretty friendly with Republicans on issues regarding national security. His wife, though, is taking a very different path.

I'm all for people expressing their minds. As I've said before, this is an issue on which reasonable people can agree to disagree--there are strong arguments against the conflict just as there are compelling reasons for action. We all know where we stand. Wanda Baucus, Sen. Baucus's wife, decided to display a light anti-war ("Peace is Patriotic") message in the window of their home. Still, no problem.

But, in an interview with the Washington Post, she shows remarkable ignorance for such an obviously intelligent woman.

"I don't think we have any business being in a preemptive war against Iraq," she said. "Anytime you drop bombs, there are going to be a lot of innocent people hurt. A billion Muslims all over the world are in pain to see their brothers losing their homes and their families losing the stability of their civilization."

Here, she employs a tepid, touchy-feely argument with no basis in reality. Billions of Muslims are losing the stability of their civilization? You can convince me that Iraqi ex-pats might feel that way, but in what way is a Muslim living in France "losing the stability of their civilization?" Further, with the precision of our bombs, civilian casualties have been remarkably light--and, yes, I hope it stays that way. Saddam's willingness to do things like stashing huge stores of military equipment in hospitals, though, makes eliminating those stores without hurting civilians a little more difficult, though, wouldn't you say, Mrs. Baucus?

It gets better, though. When asked specifically about Saddam Hussein, she has these gentle words for the dictator:

"I think he is very proud of the history of his country. I think it's we Americans who don't know the facts about what anthropologists call 'the cradle of civilization.' When we watch the bombing on television, we really don't seem to understand or appreciate that some of these places are sacred. . . . I disagree with those who say that Saddam Hussein doesn't think about this. He cares about these places and their people."

He cares so damned much about those people that he's willing to drop chemical and biological agents on them. Or to order troops to use artillery against Shiite Muslims in Basra just yesterday. Or, if he disagrees with them politically, just drop them in the nearest industrial plastic shredder. And, when he gets a little bored, he can start a war with one of his neighbors--I'm sure that Iran and Kuwait still remember his combat tactics, even if Mrs. Baucus doesn't.

Hell, that doesn't sound so bad to me. (For those with wonky sarcasm detectors, that was just all sarcastic as hell.)

Saddam Hussein runs a secular government in which religion is used only as a tool to maintain authority. His respect for the people and places of his country runs a distant second to his passionate love of absolute power and the trappings of power--the money, the perks, and the fear. Saddam, in the worst possible way, only cares about his own demented ambitions.

Wanda Baucus isn't so notable for being anti-war, but for being so willfully blind to the situation. Even if I didn't think that Iraq harbors those darned weapons of mass destruction, even if I didn't believe that Saddam would happily provide them to terrorists to destabilize his enemies, and even if I had somehow forgotten Iraq's willful defiance of UN resolutions and attempted assassination of Pres. Bush the First, I would still support this war. Why? Because the people of Iraq deserve to be liberated from this psychotic tyrant who terrorizes his own country.

Because, just as in Kosovo, there are some things worth fighting for that don't involve national security.

Read the story.

Posted by zombyboy at March 26, 2003 12:00 AM | TrackBack

Comments

you obviously have a strong opinion in favor of war. after 2 tours of combat in Nam, I got a degree in political science from the U of S Florida in Tampa, and for the life of me can't find one reason to justify our presence in Iraq. There are alot of tyrants in this world, most worse than saddam. He hasn't threatened us, attacked us or even talk bad about my mom. He has no connection to 9/11 (so says the cia and fbi), he has no nukes (so says the cia and fbi), we dont know if he has chemical or biologicals becuase bush wouldn't let the inspeters do their job. He hasn't attacked our allies. His neighbors aren't afraid of him. But we are.

Mr bush has used the grief from 9/11, the fear of more terrorist attacks, misinformation, inuendo and outright lies to get the american people to back an unjust war. With the help of the cheerleading media (wonder how much commercial time costs right now?), bush has turned america into the only country in the world where the population favors action in iraq.

You've been duped. You don't know it yet, but you will......

MIKE

Posted by: A visitor at March 28, 2003 01:52 AM

Yep, I do have a strong opinion and I think it's pretty well supported. First, I am an Army vet and my father served in the 5th Special Forces in Vietnam. I have not served in combat, and I realize my luckiness in that. Please, don't play the military card. I don't think it gives a person any more right to an opinion on the subject than someone who hasn't served.

I think your criticism of Pres. Bush's administration borders on a conspiracy theorist's view of the world. The CIA and FBI say that, no, Saddam doesn't have nuclear weapons, but that he would have within 18 months. The FBI and CIA say that he didn't have a direct connection to 9/11, but that there were connections to other terrorist attacks and organizations. And now, it has been reported that Al Queda is fighting along side Iraqi military and is certainly providing assistance to the Iraqis.

Saddam Hussein has launched invasions against Kuwait and Iran. He has launched missiles at Israel. And yet you say that his neighbors have no fear of him?

Saddam Hussein was behind a plot to assassinate a former American president, and yet you say he's never threatened us?

I have said on this blog before that I believe there are good strong arguments against this war, arguments which I believe are outweighed by the reasons for the war.

Things such as the violation of numerous UN resolutions and failure to comply with weapons inspectors who's jobs were not to ferret out those weapons but to varify the destruction of those weapons. It isn't our President who prevented them from performing their duties, it was Saddam Hussein's regime.

And, if you've spent time reading this site, you'd see some very convincing arguments that Saddam is a horrible tyrant. The worst in the world? That's hard to say. But feeding people into industrial plastic shredders, utilizing professional rapists to torture the relatives of political prisoners, gassing the Kurds in the north, using mortar fire to put down civil uprisings in Basra--well, I think you get the point. Even if I didn't believe that it is in our national interest to do this, I would believe that it is in our moral interest to do this.

Where did you come down on Kosovo? Our national interest wasn't served; we were there simply to save lives. Wasn't that good enough there? So, if you don't believe in the security interests, the human rights violations are impossible to ignore.

I haven't been duped, and I believe that history will prove me right.

Thanks for the comment, though.

Visit me @ http://resurrectionsong.blog-city.com

Posted by: zombyboy at March 28, 2003 04:07 AM