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Bush Administration's call for war in Iraq shows the arrogance of power By
Mike Bullock The rhetoric is intense and constant. Bush, Rumsfeld, Cheney and Ashcroft are using their bully pulpit. Iraq is an outlaw nation! Saddam is an evil man! Saddam must be destroyed and Iraq must be brought under control! The drums of war grow louder and more frequent. We must go to war, unilaterally if necessary, to rid the planet of a terrible menace! My questions are these: Why is it that no other country agrees with that view? Why is it that so many of our own military leaders, past and present, think that is a lousy idea? Why is it that so many of the people who advised Bush Sr. during his presidency disagree? Who is really an outlaw nation? The view of this administration seems to be that we are the most powerful country on the planet and will do what we damn well please. The views of the rest of the world are of little import. This view applies not only to Iraq and Saddam Hussein but to many other areas as well. For example, most other countries signed a treaty that would bring to trial those charged with war crimes. Not the United States! All but a handful of countries signed a treaty that banned anti-personnel land mines. Not the United States! Other countries want to control the emission of chloro/fluoro-hydrocarbons that cause global warming and signed a treaty in that regard. Not the United States! Most countries are willing to set goals to advance the use of alternate energy sources. That would reduce pollution and lessen our dependence on the volatile Mideast. The United States (along with a self-serving Saudi Arabia) opposes this. Many Third World countries are seeing rampant starvation brought on by drought and overpopulation. The United States has recently canceled the funding for programs designed to teach family planning in these countries. I could go on but the pattern is clear. One of the reasons given for the necessity of ridding the world of Saddam is the allegation that he possesses weapons of mass destruction. If that is an adequate reason, then the United States and several other countries that have such weapons should also be overthrown. But, of course, different standards apply to us. We are smarter and better than the rest of the world. If the rest of the world doesn't like our ideas, well, tough! During the Vietnam war era, Sen. J. William Fulbright of Arkansas spoke of the "arrogance of power, the tendency of great nations to equate power with virtue." That idea applies now more than ever and should make one ask: Who is really the outlaw nation? Under this administration, sadly, it just may be the United States.
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