"I don't see Sadaam posing a serious global threat"
That may simply be a self imposed limitation. Consequences flow from consequences. All for the want of a nail, you know...
And I am not trying to be glib. These are serious times.
Here is a wonderful article from the Atlantic Monthly. It is a long read but well worth it. It does not make any particular point on this issue of invading Iraq, but it gives a very perceptive window into the matter.
There was a science fiction story years ago. I wish I could remember the author. Anyway, the protagonist is an arms advocate...brash, arrogant, cocky...and he has a disabled daughter (mentally challenged). The denouement comes when a loaded gun finds its way into her hands; and after the terror, tembling, and saving of her life, the punch line is "Who did this??? Who would place a loaded gun into the hands of an idiot??"
So?? Is the gun loaded? and is Saddam or B the idiot? I don't know, but I think simplistic extremes of opinion are probably all less than helpful here...
theatlantic.com
Ultimately, guilt or innocence doesn't matter, because there is no law or value beyond the tyrant's will; if he wants someone arrested, tortured, tried, and executed, that is sufficient. The exercise not only serves as warning, punishment, or purge but also advertises to his subjects, his enemies, and his potential rivals that he is strong. Compassion, fairness, concern for due process or the law, are all signs of indecision. Indecision means weakness. Cruelty asserts strength. |
