Posted by deirdrehbrt on March 29, 2006, at 0:31:35
In reply to Here is another view...long but worth reading..., posted by wildcard11 on March 28, 2006, at 21:41:57
I was writing a reply to this post but it disappeared. I guess it was the Goddess' way of telling me to tone it down a bit.
Anyway, when I read this post, I was shocked. How could a father possibly put a young son through such an ordeal? It seems quite cruel, and I hope that it didn't really happen that way.
As far as the content though, it doesn't fit. It doesn't match the situation. A neighbor is one thing, but a sovereign nation is another. If one country deems itself to be the arbiters of what is good and evil, and to enforce it's views on others, what, essentially, is that nation? Many people are afraid that the UN is beomming the one-world-nation, but are they as actively imposing their rules as the United States?
So far, more than 34,000 CIVILIANS have been killed in IRAQ by our forces. Of these, 40% are children 14 and under. That's 13,600 children.
I agree that something needed to be done. I'm just scared by some of the facts of how this all came about. Recent news reports show that President Bush had decided prior to the results of the UN inspection for WMD that a military invasion was his plan whatever the outcome of the inspection.
I don't feel comfortable having the US as the arbiters of what is right and wrong in the world. We may not be imperialistic, in that our flag is not flying over Iraq, but we are imposing our form of government. Iraq may not be a state, but it is becoming, by military force, our desired form of government.
I have to wonder if another powerful country seeing one of our allies exhibiting cruelty to its inhabitants, threatening use of WMD, killing civilians.... and if this country decided to take action, what would the U.S. response be? Certainly we would be thrust into world war, say if China decided that Israel was being too cruel to the Palestinians in its' borders and decided to take action. (I'm not equating Israel with Iraq, only looking at what might happen if other countries decided that it was their responsibility to impose their version of justice on an ally nation)
In any event, the sad story of father and son doesn't come close to addressing the actual nature, cause, or realities of the war we find ourselves fighting. If a neighbor were being openly cruel to his family, I would call 911, tell the police, and intervene as best I could. Having some years of martial arts training, I would hope to save a life without losing my own. But that is helping a neighbor, not invading a sovereign country. Police departments are able to intervene in ways that the UN is not. Police departments act within their jurisdiction. The UN doesn't have blanket authority to dictate what's right in every country on earth.
Anyway, if I continue, I'll probably become uncivil. Suffice it to say that I'm not proud of what my country is doing right now. I'm hoping for change to come in the next election. I'm hoping that we'll soon bow under pressure and give imprisoned americans their right to counsel and to be either convicted of a crime or released. I'm hoping that we begin to treat foreign prisoners better and hold ourselves accountable for any injustice we might have committed. Basically, I want my government to hold itself to the moral standards we claim. I am wishing for the transparency that a truly democratic government requires. I am hoping for a just and accountable leadership. If that really does exist, right now, then I am hoping that someone can open my eyes so that I can see it.
Anyway, rambling again.
--Dee
poster:deirdrehbrt
thread:625766
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/poli/20060322/msgs/625897.html