Iraq War

I’ve suspected from day 1 that America would go in and clean up Bush Snr’s mess, with or without the UN. The question remains why America even needs other countries to help it at all. Surely people see that it’s just a ruse to make it look like a “good vs evil crusade” rather than an aggressive American military operation. Why is Australia really supplying troops to the Middle East? Three words: Free. Trade. Agreement. In reality, America would never give a shit about France, Germany and Russia’s stance, they’ve just been castigated to look like weak, spineless pariahs and further influence American public opinion by making the “Coalition of the Willing” appear more noble and pragmatic by comparison. I swear if I see another news report showing some moronic, loudmouth Yanks pouring French wine into the gutter I’m going to stave in the tv screen with a cricket bat. Yes, the Allies liberated France in WW2. So fucking what? The US didn’t even join the Allies until 18 months after the French surrendered. If you’re going to use history to justify your self-righteousness and bigotry, what about the vital French aid against the English during the American War of Independence?

My parents have been staunchly on the side of the anti-War protesters, but slowly and surely I think I’m talking them around. Mostly because their arguments just can’t hold water in any non-idealistic world. My mother is still of the belief that, if Iraq is such a horribly repressed state, why don’t the Iraqi people rise up and overthrow the regime? I told her that, since communism in Russia lasted over 70 years, by her logic it must have been a utopia, otherwise why wouldn’t such a massive population have risen up and overthrown it? Oh, that’s right, because you’d get thrown into a gulag, or up against the wall in front of a firing squad if you were even half suspected of dissent. It’s these fanciful, idealistic half-truths and ignorance of the specifics of history that is the basis of many of these people’s arguments. If you believe that Saddam can be disarmed totally without any threat of force, and that once this has occurred he will cease to be a problem, then call me pessimistic, but perhaps you have problems coping with reality. Money makes the world go around, and peace comes out of the barrel of a gun. And as much as people may hate to admit to that, they need to learn to accept it. These are the fundamental principles of democracy and capitalism upon which Western society has been based, and no amount of protestation is going to alter that.

I’m not left, I’m not right. I’m not pro-War or anti-War. If anything, I’m trying to remain pro-truth and anti-bullshit, particularly concerning matters as serious as war. Is this war about oil? Indirectly, yes. Does that necessitate the overthrow of a despotic government? Probably. I wouldn’t have even thought that the UN needed an excuse to intervene according to the tenets it advocates. Will a government change in the Middle East do anything to affect international terrorism? Maybe, maybe not. The real crux of the matter will come when the Iraqi matter is sorted out, and yet states like North Korea and Zimbabwe continue to exist as similarly oppressive regimes. Will the US continue to respond in kind? I doubt it, but I’m hoping I’ll be proved wrong. Is this the first step towards the American-sponsored expulsion of Palestinians from Israel? Possibly, but I’d hate to think that a matter so complex would have to be solved via aggressive or underhanded means. I suppose it will all become clearer over the next few weeks and months.