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It's time to unify, stop protesting
By Eric O'Link
Published:
Thursday, March 27, 2003
Eric O´Link -- Staff Essay
They carry signs: "No Blood For Oil, "Stop Killing Iraqis" and "Bush is a moron."
They march, they chant, they clog streets, they pester businesses.
They're protestors - and despite the fact that our country is at war and has committed itself to liberating Iraq, they continue to decry the war.
`There's nothing wrong with that, of course. Those calling for peace have a Constitutional right to assemble, say what they want, even criticize the government. We're lucky to live in a place where such rights are seen as fundamental.
I think it's pretty obvious that there are few people in this country who were calling for war before we had exhausted every diplomatic avenue.
But the protestors are starting to get on my nerves. I saw on the news just the other day that a group of protestors had blocked a street in front of U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman's office. Other protestors had gone inside and refused to leave, in what the news reporter speculated was an attempt to get arrested.
The signs the protestors were carrying said the same old thing; the president is an idiot and the war is about the greedy U.S. wanting more oil.
And just last week, at a war "discussion" held here on campus, students and faculty sounded off on what a crock the whole thing is.
People, get serious.
No president - even Bush - is dumb enough to take the nation into war because of a personal vendetta, especially not in an age where the media scrutinizes the government more closely than ever. If Bush tried to declare war on Iraq only because he wanted the oil there, or because he wanted to "settle old scores," respected leaders in this country like Secretary of State Colin Powell would not support the president.
The real issue here is Saddam Hussein and weapons of mass destruction. Here is a dictator who has proven himself to be power-hungry and nothing short of psychotic. He studied the styles of ruthless dictators before him and now rules Iraq with an iron fist of cruel, merciless "leadership."
And the Iraqi people have suffered. They have no freedom; they live in fear and their children are brainwashed into thinking that Hussein is the key to prosperity and happiness. Hussein, meanwhile, has used his own chemical weapons to kill thousands of Iraqis. He's murdered members of his own government.
He possesses weapons of mass destruction which he is apparently not afraid to use. U.S. forces reported that based on evidence they found in parts of Iraq, the Iraqi army was probably preparing to use chemical weapons against the allies. Such weapons are lethal in the hands of a dictator gone mad; in the hands of terrorists, they could be even more deadly.
The U.N. has ordered Hussein to dispose of these weapons for 12 YEARS. Has he complied? No; he's thumbed his nose at the world and continued his regime of terror.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair made an excellent point when speaking from the Azores less than a week before the war began. Hussein, he said, has had a plan all along - to comply with U.N. weapons inspectors just enough to divide the world between war and diplomacy. It worked; it divided the world and our country.
I challenge those who protest the war to provide a better solution. They call for diplomacy, but diplomacy has not worked. War is terrible; people will die. But if a few brave Americans are willing to sacrifice their lives to liberate a nation from a cruel tyrant and rebuild that nation from a broken people to a great society, while helping preserve international security in the process, is it not for a greater good?
Peace protestors, I assure you, your message has been heard. But it's time to put down your signs and stand together, not "for" or "against" the war, but as fellow Americans.
Let's unite our voices to show support for our brave men and women overseas. Let's pray that they be kept safe and that loss of life on both sides is minimal. Let's hope that the rebuilding of Iraq can begin soon and be a successful endeavor. And when our troops do return home, let's give them the hero's welcome they all deserve.
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I am a war protestor but I do not believ... (3/27/03)
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