It was a great Christmas as far as gifts went, but I didn't get what I really wanted: Weapons of mass destruction.
Relax, I wasn't hoping for some anthrax in my stocking. I wanted our troops to discover Saddam's arsenal. I guess I'll have to keep waiting patiently; maybe they'll show up for my birthday.
I genuinely want to believe President Bush. I'm not a "Bush-hater" anymore. It's just so immature. One must deal in facts not emotions. Consider the words of those leading us. An analysis is infinitely more effective than a rant.
Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz on May 9 said, "There have always been three fundamental concerns. One is weapons of mass destruction, the second is support for terrorism, the third is the criminal treatment of the Iraqi people... The third one by itself, as I think I said earlier, is a reason to help the Iraqis, but it's not a reason to put American kids' lives at risk, certainly not on the scale we did it," according to a transcript on DefenseLINK, a Department of Defense Web site.
Translation: No WMDs plus no terrorist connections equal no adequate justification for war. We have our military to defend us not to liberate the oppressed. Both conservatives and liberals can agree on this, right?
"I have not seen smoking-gun, concrete evidence about the connection (between Hussein and Al Qaeda)," Secretary of State Colin Powell said at a Jan. 8 press conference according to the New York Times.
This goes against what the administration has said for over a year. One example was given by the president on Sept. 26, 2002 in an ABC News report: "The regime has long standing and continuing ties to terrorist organizations."
So it comes down to the WMDs, and the situation doesn't look good. In a March 30 DefenseLINK transcript, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said, "We know where they are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south, and north somewhat."
So we know where the weapons are, yet we have not found them. I will not make a smartass remark.
War supporters, I approach you with humble, open arms: Where is the hole in my logic? There's no rhetoric in the above paragraphs, just the words of our leaders.
Do not yell at me, "We've found mass graves! The world is better without this evil man empowered!" No one will disagree. But Saddam's sick sadism is not the issue.
I got a late present on Monday from the president: truth. According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Bush admitted that he had been planning the invasion of Iraq since he took office. That was the agenda, and one must be weary of the "facts" of someone with a passionate agenda.
This definitely applies to pundits. Be suspicious - especially if their message and presentation is mean - when one uses a seemingly perfect statistic or quote.
I hope that conservatives can look beyond their admiration of the president and ask, "If we don't find any WMDs, and the Al-Qaeda connections were nonexistent, and freeing the Iraqis wasn't our highest priority, then why did we really go to war?"
We'll consider the facts and look into that next week.
Write to David at swimminginbrokenglass@yahoo.com
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
