[Peace-discuss] NYTimes.com Article: Ready for the Peace?

[scarsey at uiuc.edu]

This article from NYTimes.com 
has been sent to you by scarsey at uiuc.edu.



Ready for the Peace?

March 20, 2003
By BOB HERBERT 




 

Now that U.S. strikes against Iraq have begun, we should
get rid of one canard immediately, and that's the notion
that criticism of the Bush administration and opposition to
this invasion imply in some sense a lack of support or
concern for the men and women who are under arms. 

The names of too many of my friends are recorded on the
wall of the Vietnam Memorial for me to tolerate that kind
of nonsense. I hope that the war goes well, that our troops
prevail quickly and that casualties everywhere are kept to
a minimum. 

But the fact that a war may be quick does not mean that it
is wise. Against the wishes of most of the world, we have
plunged not just into war, but toward a peace that is
potentially more problematic than the war itself. 

Are Americans ready to pay the cost in lives and dollars of
a long-term military occupation of Iraq? To what end? 

Will an occupation of Iraq increase or decrease our
security here at home? 

Do most Americans understand that even as we are launching
one of the most devastating air assaults in the history of
warfare, private companies are lining up to reap the riches
of rebuilding the very structures we're in the process of
destroying? 

Companies like Halliburton, Schlumberger and the Bechtel
Group understand this conflict a heck of a lot better than
most of the men and women who will fight and die in it, or
the armchair patriots who'll be watching on CNN and
cheering them on. 

It's not unpatriotic to say that there are billions of
dollars to be made in Iraq and that the gold rush is
already under way. It's simply a matter of fact. 

Back in January, an article in The Wall Street Journal
noted: "With oil reserves second only to Saudi Arabia's,
Iraq would offer the oil industry enormous opportunity
should a war topple Saddam Hussein. But the early spoils
would probably go to companies needed to keep Iraq's
already rundown oil operations running, especially if
facilities were further damaged in a war. Oil-services
firms such as Halliburton Co., where Vice President Dick
Cheney formerly served as chief executive, and Schlumberger
Ltd. are seen as favorites for what could be as much as
$1.5 billion in contracts." 

There is tremendous unease at the highest levels of the
Pentagon about this war and its aftermath. The president
and his civilian advisers are making a big deal about the
anticipated rejoicing of the liberated populace once the
war is over. But Iraq is an inherently unstable place, and
while the forces assembled to chase Saddam from power are
superbly trained for combat, the military is not well
prepared for a long-term occupation in the most volatile
region in the world. 

What's driving this war is President Bush's Manichaean view
of the world and messianic vision of himself, the
dangerously grandiose perception of American power held by
his saber-rattling advisers, and the irresistible lure of
Iraq's enormous oil reserves. 

Polls show that the public is terribly confused about
what's going on, so much so that some 40 percent believe
that Saddam Hussein was personally involved in the Sept. 11
attacks. That's really scary. Rather than correct this
misconception, the administration has gone out of its way
to reinforce it. 

I think the men and women moving militarily against Saddam
are among the few truly brave and even noble individuals
left in our society. They have volunteered for the
dangerous duty of defending the rest of us. But I also
believe they are being put unnecessarily in harm's way. 

As a result of the military buildup, there is hardly a more
hobbled leader on earth at the moment than Saddam Hussein.
A skillful marshaling of international pressure could have
forced him from power. But then the Bush administration
would not have had its war and its occupation. It would not
have been able to turn Iraq into an American protectorate,
which is as good a term as any for a colony. 

Is it a good idea to liberate the people of Iraq from the
clutches of a degenerate like Saddam Hussein? Sure. But
there were better, less dangerous, ways to go about it. 

In the epigraph to his memoir, "Present at the Creation,"
Dean Acheson quoted a 13th-century king of Spain, Alphonso
X, the Learned: 

"Had I been present at the creation I would have given some
useful hints for the better ordering of the universe."   


http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/20/opinion/20HERB.html?ex=1049174894&ei=1&en=9ab6557038ea901c



HOW TO ADVERTISE
---------------------------------
For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters 
or other creative advertising opportunities with The 
New York Times on the Web, please contact
onlinesales at nytimes.com or visit our online media 
kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo

For general information about NYTimes.com, write to 
help at nytimes.com.  

Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company