UNDER THE MICROSCOPE

NEW SPECIMENS OLD SPECIMENS THE SCIENTIST MY LOG CONTACT ME
2003-03-22 - 7:41 p.m.

WHAT CAN�T BE UNDONE

Kat and Mr. Philately went off to a peace rally today. They invited me to come along but I declined. I opposed this war and, had they asked me, I would have gone to such a rally last week. But this week it is too late. I believe that we should never have gone in but I also believe that pulling out now would make the mistake infinitely worse. Some mistakes cannot simply be undone.

The question is no longer whether we were right to invade Iraq. For me, the correct questions is �what happens now?� I fear that if we simply pulled out right now, we could unleash a bloodbath. We don�t know if Hussein is alive or in power and, I suspect, neither do the Iraqis. Power vacuums, especially in lands with as many separate �tribes� as exist in Iraq tend to be more dangerous than concentrated power.

My biggest reason for opposing this war is that I believed (and still believe) that we were not prepared to do what it would take to rebuild Iraq in any reasonable way. We�ve lacked that will and know-how in Afghanistan. Only the opium industry has rebounded. The rest of the country seems to consist of little fiefdoms.

What few plans I�ve heard for rebuilding Iraq appear to suggest that industry, American industry, should re-build Iraq. We want to privatize nation-building. Whatever the merits of American business, appearing to have engaged in this war for the sake of American business interests just plays into the hands of those who believe our decisions are ruled by our exploitative side. Besides, American business has lost whatever ability it had to think long-term. In a world which judges companies quarter-by-quarter, the business motto seems to be �take quick profits and worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.� Such an attitude cannot build viable, healthy nations.

But the only chance Iraq has now is for a real conclusion to the war. Additional sanctions in the face of massive destruction, injury, and death will kill. Iraq now needs the (at least) ten seconds of doing right, including the grain and money, that we pour in to make ourselves feel better about winning. We don�t aid everyone we defeat but our largesse tends not to extend to those who make us look bad.

So, I didn�t join Mr. Philately and Kat today because, in the world I live in, sometimes it is better to be glorious wrong all the way, than to back up and be tentatively right.

LAST YEAR: SPAM, Spam, SPAM, Spam

LAST FIVE ENTRIES:

Needing a Little Exercise
War
Keys, Glorious Keys
Keeping Above Water
Cooler By the Lake
Waiting Time

previous - next

|

Weblog Commenting and Trackback by HaloScan.com
Copyright 2006 by Ellen

join my Notify List and get email when I update my site:
email:
Powered by NotifyList.com

On Display Ring
[ Previous | Next ]
[ Previous 5 | Next 5 ]
[ List Sites ]

about me - read my profile! read other DiaryLand diaries! recommend my diary to a friend! Get your own fun + free diary at DiaryLand.com!