Reasons for War

[barbara100 at jps.net]

I think the reasons for war against Iraq are to get another "world
domination" notch in the US's belt.  Oil, Empire,WMD--Fuck, it's about
Power! And we have power-hungry motherfuckers in Washington right now who
I'll
venture to say are the "criminally insane" and "human elite with no right at
all to be where  they are" that Pynchon and we folks on this list have been
talking about.
Quail, after all the Pynchon you've read! When do men of power ever care
squat about "people" and their "freedom"?  They make that shit up for you.
I'm sorry to see you lapping it up so.

1. To disarm Iraq.
That was never an issue. They're a weak and powerless country and that's
the only reason we're taking them over at all. That and its enormous wealth
and
stronghold in the region. It's regime change and you know it.
2. To ensure that Iraq never becomes nuclear.
If we were so worried about nuclear capabilities, why isn't our attention
focused on the more immediate threat, North Korea? If we were so worried
about nuclear weapons, why are we demonstrating to the world that the only
way to deter American aggression is with nuclear weapons, like North
Korea?  We're creating more terrorists, for sure, but and we're also driving
the world in a mad rush for the Bomb!  You worry that we might fuck this up.
We ARE fucking it up! You can't NOT fuck something like this up.
3. Remove a regime that actively fosters terrorism.
Actively fosters terrorism? What are you referring to? I thought that Powel
address to
the UN was prettymuch refuted the following week.
4. Liberate the Iraqi people.
Yeah right.
5. Foster an Arab democracy.
Our government doesn't like democracy at home, why should we think they'd
like it in Arab countries?
6. Demonstrate American power in a post 9-11 environment.
No argument there. And don't we look Mighty...


----- Original Message -----
From: "The Great Quail" <quail at libyrinth.com>
To: "The Whole Sick Crew" <pynchon-l at waste.org>
Sent: Thursday, April 10, 2003 12:57 PM
Subject: Reasons for War


> I think there are several valid reasons for this War, just as there are
> several valid reasons to oppose it. By enumerating the pro-War reasons, I
am
> not siding with the Bushies, who -- in my opinion -- did a poor job
> articulating the reasons to the world, and a worse job with the diplomatic
> build-up to the war. Also, this is all predicated on the fact that, at the
> root of it, oil is the a-priori reason we wish a stable, pro-US region. Of
> course it is! But the following is also predicated on the fact that I do
not
> think the US is inherently evil, and does have some good intentions mixed
in
> with national security and the economy. Wal-Mart building a store in
Baghdad
> is, to me, a lesser evil than totalitarian politics, acid baths and
> government sponsored rape.
>
> Reasons for the war:
>
> 1. To disarm Iraq. The weakest reason, I agree: Iraq's chemical munitions
> aren't really that threatening to the US. But nevertheless, this gives us
> the *pretext* for "legal," UN-sanctioned war. (And of course, we pick and
> choose what UN resolutions to enforce or ignore. I admit the hypocrisy.)
> However, the UN is hardly an impartial observer, and France and Russia are
> even more self-interested in Iraq than we are. All must play the charade,
> learn the steps of the dance. But in the end, the US decided to act.
>
> 2. To ensure that Iraq never becomes nuclear. In my opinion, a much better
> reason than the above, especially given the fall of the USSR, the
breakdown
> of Chechnya, and Kimmy about to pop out nukes like hotcakes. Left in
power,
> one day Saddam would probably get a nuke or two, and that would give him a
> dangerous amount of control over the Middle East. I suggest reading
Kenneth
> Pollack's book for a very rational account of what this would be like.
> Bearing in mind that with each passing year, keeping US troops in the
region
> becomes more problematic, it made sense to launch the invasion sooner than
> later.
>
> 3. Remove a regime that actively fosters terrorism. Complicated by the
> short-term problem that the inflamed Arab "street" may launch increased
> attacks against us. But in the long term, removing Saddam, his wealth, his
> prestige, and his terrorist camps is a good thing, and something I believe
> will out-weigh the short-term negatives.
>
> 4. Liberate the Iraqi people. It is more than rhetoric; and in many ways,
it
> is our duty -- after all, we helped build this monster. No, we didn't
create
> him, and no, we weren't the main powers that aided him -- but we certainly
> failed miserably to do something in the past, during the Iraq/Iran War and
> during the Iraqi intifadah after the Gulf War. And yes, I am aware of the
> irony of killing some civilians to liberate them. But to use Noam
Chomsky's
> reasoning against him, how many Iraqis will *not* perish over the next few
> years because Saddam's gone? The Devil's calculus, indeed.
>
> 5. Foster an Arab democracy. Iraq is rather secular, well-educated, and
> sophisticated. If democracy can take root here, it will flourish, and
really
> have a lasting impact on this region. It was a good place to start, and
the
> insanity of Saddam Hussein gave us the pretext to wade in there with a big
> bag of fertilizer. However, if we fuck this up, it will be a catastrophe.
> This is a risk, a huge gamble, and it will be insanely difficult -- but it
> can be worth it.
>
> 6. Demonstrate American power in a post 9-11 environment. Here's the one
> that will get some people squawking, I'm sure! But I think one of the
> reasons for this war was to demonstrate the sheer power of the US, our
> ability to move a half-million people across the world and take over a
> country within a month. That sends a very, very powerful message to the
> region. Is it frightening? Of course! Is it imperialistic? Certainly it
has
> elements of imperialism. Will it have drawbacks? Most certainly. But I am
> pretty sure that, when the smoke clears, it will leave some states with a
> healthy respect for a superpower that has shaken off Viet Nam for good.
Make
> of that what you will.
>
> Again, I am not saying that all these reasons sit easily on me -- I've
seen
> the blasted children and executed POWs, too. When you get down on the
human
> level, war is unthinkable. To that boy with no arms, to those KIA
soldiers,
> was the liberation of Iraq worth it? Of course not. But the complexity of
> the matter demands a more distanced view from those of us who balance
> emotion with intellect, compassion with resolve.
>
> Also, I know there are some very valid and sane reasons to be against this
> war -- beyond the reductionist "war is bad" and the naïve "diplomacy will
> work" stances. I think that intelligent people of all kinds may look at
the
> situation and draw different conclusions. But since I made the decision to
> support the war -- for many of the reasons listed above -- it's not my
> intention to list them, though I respect them.
>
> The next few months are going to be very interesting. I pray to God,
Allah,
> Jesus, and Shai Hulud that the US does not fuck things up. Please, let us
> finally take a serious stance on the Israel/Palestine problem next.
>
> --Quail
>
>