A rchive Date
[ 02-03-2003 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ U.S ]
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[http://www.canoe.ca/Columnists/bell.html
Support falters
Bush's Iraq crusade turning into The Empire Strikes Out
By RICK BELL - Calgary Sun
March 2, 2003
Notch one for the war on terror. But The Empire Strikes Back script, coming soon to a TV near you, hits a few snags.
The UN isn't doing what it's told. Iraq is slowly destroying its missiles, earning brownie points and buying time. The Turks won't let the Americans use their country to invade Iraq even though they're offered billions of bucks.
The Pope is on the president's case.
Numbers backing Bush dip even in America, where more people are attuned to reality TV than to reality, where war is only ordered against opponents who can be beaten up in 72 hours with few casualties on the home team. Now almost half of Americans are nervous.
Yes, anti-Saddam Iraqis bicker, as do the Arabs, with some slamming the utterly-undemocratic and pro-U.S. Saudis. The suspected 9/11 mastermind is arrested, a victory for the war on terrorism, but no help in slamming Saddam. The bad guy is, after all, nabbed in Pakistan, a U.S. ally, not in awful Iraq, the supposed ally of al-Qaida.
I guess we CAN fight terrorism without attacking Iraq.
Meanwhile, protesters plan more worldwide protests. In Calgary, Gord Christie, local organizer of outrage, speaks.
"If George decides to drop bombs we will meet at Olympic Plaza at 5 p.m. that same day and then the following day we'll gather at noon," says Christie, who has already talked to the local cops about the peacefests.
"And anything being organized internationally, Calgary will be involved there as well. It's nice to see no scare tactics from the city, no talk about locking stores, boarding up windows, sending kids home and keeping an eye on anarchists."
It was so much easier to explain the Gulf War. Saddam attacks Kuwait. We push back Saddam.
Then there was Afghanistan. Terrorists attack the States. We attack the country supporting and training the terrorists.
Now there is Iraq. Iraq isn't attacking anybody. But they have links to terrorists, the U.S. says long ago. Attacking Iraq is like taking on terrorism. Same deal.
Small detail. Osama thinks the secular Saddam is an infidel.
When the weak link crumbles, Bush's boys switch the story. Ah ... it's about getting rid of weapons of mass destruction. The American government even gets a unanimous resolution through the UN Security Council.
But then, most of the council wants to give the inspectors time to find all these weapons of mass destruction and destroy them. No time for such nonsense, says the States.
For the Bush brigade, the cautious countries are demoted from the coalition of the willing to the coalition of the weasels.
Now we have the latest tactical turn, what the Bush braintrust calls "the Iraq project." This is really why Iraq needs invading. Something called "regime change." Now the war is a crusade - it is about overthrowing Saddam and bringing democracy to the oppressed Iraqis.
Who could disagree with such a noble cause?
NOTE: No doubt this newly-found fervour for fairness will lead to the U.S. bringing democracy to the Saudis and the North Koreans and millions of others, to say nothing of the plight of the Palestinians, but that's for another day.
The overthrow strategy puzzles many intelligent people. The Americans will be forced to occupy and rebuild Iraq without answering the question we all want answered.
Will this make us safer? Why are we doing this and why now?
Is this about weapons or isn't it? Bush says it's about both. How can that be?
Amid the hubbub there are those who say a war without international sanction will surely swell the ranks of terror.
Gary Hart, who headed up a national security group that predicted a 9/11-type attack and was then ignored by the American authorities, issues another warning. Also ignored.
"However else you feel about the Iraqi war, don't assume it's going to suppress the threat. It's going to stimulate the threat and our finding is we're not ready," says Hart, who no doubt will now be thrown into the camp of weasels, quislings, traitors, peaceniks and Saddam lovers.
For Bush's part, it's damn the torpedoes. Any sign of progress to peace is now seen as a sign of "deception."
I can almost hear the bombs bursting in error.
The Dinger can be reached at (403) 250-4305 or by e-mail at rbell@calgarysun.com Letters to the editor should be sent to callet@sunpub.com
 World Fact Book (CIA)]
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