(This adapted from a comments posting from an earlier blog entry. Thanks charlie b. for the provocation. I might return to this entry and tune it when I'm less tired).

The Iraq situation provokes strong views, both pro and anti-war.

The anti-war camp are branded as "commies", "liberals with an anti-American agenda", "friends of Saddam" and "appeasers". There are indeed many who oppose "globalisation" (for which read that they are envious and fearful of America's economic and cultural domination of the West).

Let me be clear about my own feelings. I am anti-war, but I'm also pro-American, pro-Israeli (but vehemently against the current Israeli government and its policies on Palestine, settlements etc) and anti-Saddam. If you read through my blog you'll find a series of postings, not always eloquent, because I'm finding it hard to find my expression as a puzzled pacifist. I can't see that the answer to our problems is killing. Call me oversensitive, but I have repeated nightmares about the Iraqi, American and British dead (innocent or not). I cling to the patently ridiculous hope that human beings should have evolved beyond war. And yet there are "evil" people in the world.

So I agree with the end (regime change) but not with the means. And, I admit, my own solutions are probably ineffective. But that doesn't make me a friend of Saddam, or a supporter of the disgusting manoeverings of the French and the hopeless antics of the UN.

Posted by nathan at April 12, 2003 10:01 PM

Nathan,

I basically agree with you on all counts. These ends don't justify the means.

If I had been the one making the decision, this war wouldn't have happened and we'd be dealing in the future with a Saddam in power for at least one more year, whatver those consequences would have meant.

On the other hand I'm very conscious that I may be enjoying a liberty that has been bought by people in the past who weren't afraid to take the hard decisions. Even the morally wrong decisions. A liberty that, were I personally responsible, would have ben denied to millions.

Pope Pius is never going to live down that he didn't do something more concrete against Hitler (apart from ex-communicate him).

So I'm totally . Glad to have someone be willing to damn themselves to save my ass, unwilling to take responsibility for it.

Deep Space Nine has a good take on this: Section 13, the shadowy agency that operates totally outside of StarFleet and Federation rules, taking action to ensure that the right side prevails, by whatever means necessary. I suspect that soi disant democracies will always have the need for Section 13, because the Bad Guy does NOT operate within the rules.

I hate it too. But as a Catholic I guess I can never buy into the idea of heaven on earth, although our existence, at its best, sometimes comes pretty close.

Posted by: Pita at April 16, 2003 04:10 PM

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