Posted by Dan Ewert : 10/08/2002 12:22:00 AM (Archive Link)
From time to time, I read letters to the editor from well-meaning people who say we shouldn’t attack Iraq because we don’t want the innocent Iraqi civilians to suffer. I just have to ask these concerned citizens how they think these folks are faring now. Saddam Hussein is a ruthless dictator who treats his people as expendable pawns. He keeps vital goods and services from them so he can build up his WMD and war machine while also allowing him the PR plus of whining to the international community about the suffering he has inflicted on them but he blames it on sanctions. America once was considered an ideal that should be shared throughout the world. It was thought that all humanity would benefit from democracy, from free speech, from freedom of religion, etc. Somewhere along the line, though, we lost it. Do we not care that others are oppressed? Do we not care that there are people living under brutal dictatorships? Do we not care that a madman has placed an anti-aircraft battery atop an elementary school in Baghdad? Do we not care that some children must learn how to make grass-soup in North Korea? Do we not care that Chinese tanks run over democracy activists in Tiananmen Square and the Party claims not a single person was killed? When did we stop caring? The spread of the American ideal can’t be a defensive battle; it must be offensive. Unfortunately, that sometimes means war, but to remove oppression from the citizenry’s shoulders, it may be necessary.