I believe that waging war in Iraq is a horrible mistake. It will tear down the last shred of decency and moral justification which our nation retains. The United States will no longer be able to claim a moral upper hand. As an American citizen, I wish to make my voice be heard and to make my stand on the issue.
I am no bleeding heart. I supported the United States in the Persian Gulf War, because I felt that liberation of Kuwait was the right and moral thing to do. I supported the United States in Somalia, because I felt that providing relief and supplies was the right and moral thing to do. I supported the United States in Kosovo, because I felt that stopping the ethnic cleansing was the right thing to do. I supported the United States in Afghanistan, because I felt that destroying Al Quaeda was the right thing to do.
I realize that trying to rationalize war on a moral basis is treading on slippery ground. The horror of war is the ultimate immorality. However, the realities of the world often intrude on our illusion of perfection. Issues that seem clear cut in theory become muddy in practice. Compromises have to be made, because otherwise we would be unable to do anything, we would be helpless against the onslaught of an imperfect world. So, I believe that war must be waged in certain circumstances. In the wider theater of world events, compromises to our moral sense must be made.
However, the situation in Iraq goes beyond even these justifications. The administration is saying that war is justified on a suspicion, on a rumor. This is wrong. It is unthinkable. It is a horrible reality of the world that Iraq may indeed have weapons of mass destruction and that they may be ready to use them. But we cannot preemptively engage them. As long as there exists some small measure of doubt, we cannot embark on a path that entails the inevitable result of war: the deaths of hundreds or thousands of innocents.
In all the history of the United States, we have always required some great moral purpose when we waged war. Such moral purpose sometimes didn’t measure up against the costs of war, such as was the case in Vietnam. In other cases, there was a fight against true evil, such as World War II. There was a fight for independence, there was a fight to preserve the union, there was a fight to repel invaders from our land, there were fights to ensure justice in other lands. In these cases, the costs of war were outweighed by these great moral purposes. We unhappily accepted war’s wages because there was a greater good worth fighting for.
This has always been the hallmark of the United States. I have always been proud of my country because we fought wars for the right reasons. We’re not imperialists. We don’t countenance would-be emperors. We have a keen sense of justice. We value freedom.
Vietnam was the only case where moral purpose was insufficient. And look where it got us. The American public could not whole-heartedly support the war. People who started out supporting their government’s rationalizations ultimately backed off. The country was divided. Thousands of American soldiers died for a purpose that had to be abandoned. There have been many analyses made of what went wrong in Vietnam, but I think it all came down to one reason: we knew we didn’t belong in that war.
There is no great moral purpose driving us to Iraq. There is only vague doubt and suspicion. Yes, we got hurt on September 11, 2001. Yes, the war on terrorism is a great moral justification. However, that moral righteousness cannot be turned on Iraq, she is innocent until proven guilty. Must we wait until Iraq proves itself guilty by unleashing weapons of mass destruction? Yes, we must, because otherwise we must wage war on Pakistan, and India, and Russia, and China as well. Otherwise we join the tyrants and sink to their level. Must we suffer before we act? Yes, we must, unfortunately. Otherwise we end up with another Vietnam. We must never think to punish for future transgressions.
As Martin Luther King once said: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
Thank you for listening,
James J. Miner