The anti-war faction in America is terribly wrong. Their desire to have peace is understandable, yet they do not understand the present situation. Either those who cry for peace have not thought through the facts or they simply know so much that isn’t so.
Professor Kevin Knudson’s letter to the editor in the Feb. 14 edition of The Reflector is an example of such thinking.
In his first point, Knudson states, “Hussein is a captive in his own country.” Hussein should not be confused with Hussein’s citizens. The people of Iraq are captive in their own country-not Hussein.
Iraq is a country in which uttering words of contempt for the dictator can get one tortured or even killed. As noted in the president’s State of the Union Address, “International human rights groups have catalogued other methods used in the torture chambers of Iraq: electric shock, burning with hot irons, dripping acid on the skin, mutilation with electric drills, cutting out tongues and rape.” Even Knudson agrees that Hussein is homicidal.
However, Knudson is convinced that Saddam is “not going to give weapons of mass destruction to terrorist organizations like al Qaeda.” Such statements ignore what American intelligence has discovered regarding the true relationship between Iraq and terrorist organizations, including al Qaeda. In his presentation to the United Nations on Feb. 5, Secretary of State Colin Powell revealed specific details gathered from Iraqi defectors and al Qaeda sources giving undeniable proof that Iraq has already provided aid to terrorists groups, even al Qaeda.
In Knudson’s second point, he argues that the war against Iraq is not a moral issue for America because of our inaction in Rwanda and “failure to broker a peace deal in Israel.” Such a line of reasoning is illogical, as actions of the past have no bearing on the morality of the present.
Groups protesting war should not cite past faults as reasons for not going to war in the future. Wrongdoings or shortcomings of the past should not serve as the paralyzing agents of today. As for morality and obligations of the United States, our country is obligated to provide for the general defense and promote the common welfare of its own citizens. Objectors to war seem to have forgotten that our country was attacked.
Knudson also cites the “countless millions suffering from AIDS” in Africa as a problem that America should take a look at if our country wants to act out of morality. I refer him to the president’s State of the Union Address once more. Bush said, “I ask the Congress to commit $15 billion over the next five years, including nearly $10 billion in new money, to turn the tide against AIDS in the most afflicted nations of Africa and the Caribbean.” Not only is America capable and willing to wage war, but we are also capable and willing to extend a compassionate hand.
The third point by Knudson is again one that is irrelevant. He asks us to remember President Bush’s own dealings in the oil industry. Bush’s dealings in the oil industry do not immediately make him an oil-hungry Texan out to get Iraq’s oil. Instead of being grateful for a president who understands a thing or two about oil, Knudson wants to demonize him for his success in the industry and cite it as a reason why this president is incapable of making unbiased decisions in anything involving the Texas tea.
Knudson thinks we ought to let Mother Nature take care of Hussein, citing that the elderly Hussein (who is 65, not 68, as was reported) is due to kick the bucket soon. Maybe so. But maybe “Mother Nature” will be as kind to him as she has been to Fidel Castro.
Knudson’s closing argument sounds like a sure-fire way to ensure another Sept. 11. He said, “It is time for Bush to stop focusing on the enemy we can see and redouble his efforts to stop the enemy we can’t see.”
The problem is that Knudson and those like him have misidentified the enemy altogether. To them President Bush and this country are “playing the role of bully.” Do not be fooled. The real enemies are the terrorists and those who aid terrorism. Those who fight against them are not bullies. They are the soldiers of the United States of America. They are the defenders of freedom fighting even for those who protest this war.
Michael Stewart is a junior philosophy and religion major.