Tough decision time

A World War II veteran commented that if we are going to go to war, the United States should make sure that other nations support the effort. His feelings were that American boys should not be the only ones to shed blood in a war with an international tyrant who threatens the whole world, not just the United States. I agree with his assessment.

It is apparent that President Bush and Congress must have information that we do not have. They must have some proof that Saddam Hussein is capable and willing to launch weapons of mass destruction, most likely chemical and biological weapons. However, I am not fully convinced that our intelligence system is very good.

What troubles me somewhat is that Iraq is not the only potential global threat. North Korea seems intent on developing nuclear weapons which they will surely use if successfully developed. So why just concentrate on Iraq? Is it because Iraq is sitting on billions of gallons of oil? Is our objective to preserve world peace or to preserve our energy sources? That question becomes troublesome when I realize that both Bush and VP Dick Cheney are oilmen.

I think that September 11 gave Bush a mission that legitimatized his presidency. Before that, his presidency was uneventful and he was the butt of many jokes because of his malapropisms. Pursuing a war on terrorism gave his presidency meaning and changed him as a person.

In some ways, President Bush's presidency is similiar to Harry Truman's. Truman was a haberdasher from Kansas City who replaced a very popular Roosevelt near the end of World War II. Like Bush, Truman was ridiculed by the press. In Truman's case he was just a dumb farm kid from Missouri, totally unlike the manor-born Roosevelt. However, this simple farm boy made a tough decision to drop an atomic bomb on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. It was not a popular decision at the time because it caused so many deaths of innocent civilians. However, it did save the lives of hundreds of thousands of America because it eliminated the need to go into Japan and fight door to door. Truman went on to make other tough decisions such as firing General Douglas McArthur. I think history has proven that Truman was probably a better president than what the public had thought at the time he was president.

By being the most powerful country in the world, the United States is viewed unfavorably as the world policeman by most countries. However, that is the way things are and it would be dumb of us to avoid conflict just so we don't offend other nations. When you are number one you have to act like number one.

There are things we can do to mitigate the anger that many countries have towards us. First of all, our unconditional support of Israel is creating an awful lot of resentment from the Arab world. Having a more even handed policy toward the Middle East conflict would help reduce terrorism. Secondly, we must convince other countries the importance of creating a coalition to fight not only Iraq, but also the war on terrorism. Bush's arrogance of threatening to go it alone against Iraq is not the way to form a coalition.

None of us want to go to war. I wish our CIA was smart enought to know how to get rid of Saddam Hussein without having to start a war. However, the fear of what could happen if Saddam remains in power is going to haunt us as long as he is alive. The United States has never been the aggressor in a war without being provoked first. However, in this case we will be going to war in order to prevent something worse happening if we don't.

It is a different world with a different type of enemy with different types of weapons. The United States will have to break precedence in order to remove Saddam Hussein from power. It is my gut feeling that Bush would not go to war if he and the military didn't think they could eliminate Saddam quickly with a minimum amount of casualties. What happens after Saddam Hussein is eliminated will be the big problem. Rebuilding Iraq and controlling the anger of the Muslim world will be a formidable task.

The struggling economy and the threat of war has cast a pall over this holiday season. However, it is in times like these that we have to stand together and embrace the optimism and courage that has typified our country in the past. The world has been and always will be cloaked in danger. Let us hope and pray that our leaders have the wisdom and courage to make the right decisions to lead us through the danger before us.

Merry Christmas everyone.