August 29, 2002
Scowcroft's Trojan Horse?
by J P Thomas
Dear BuzzFlash,
Let's not be overjoyed that noted Republicans seem to be halting the march to invade Iraq. This might be a Trojan Horse, by which it will appear debate has occurred, while the justification for war is the object. All these GOPers have added a conditional "if it can be proved that Iraq is a threat...". Well, where there's a will there's a way, as we should all know by now.
This is why decent people need to ask now, more than ever, some pointed questions:
- If we invade Iraq, will there be significant casualties, both of our soldiers and of civilians? What are the estimates for various scenarios?
- If Saddam has weapons of mass destruction he intends to use on us anyway, why would he not use them on our troops?
- Who exactly in the Invasion party will have any of their own relatives anywhere near the field of fire? If the war succeeds, who in the Invasion party, or their close associates, will personally benefit from the situation?
- Were biological/chemical/radiological weapons used on our troops in Desert Storm? Or was it our own materials and practices that damaged the health of tens of thousands of veterans, US and Coalition? Ask the Desert Storm Vets about it.
- If we invade Iraq, will this likely increase or decrease the stability of Egypt?
- Of Afghanistan? Pakistan? Saudi Arabia? Syria? Lebanon? Iran? In each case, why or why not?
- Would the Middle East as a whole explode? If Iraq's neighbors hear reports of large civilian casualties in Iraq, would this make an explosion more or less likely?
- Would China, Pakistan, India, Israel, Syria, Palestine, or combinations, see it as a good time to act for their own goals? China seems determined to reclaim Taiwan, and Pakistan and India must both be contemplating a first-strike scenario.
- If we invade Iraq, and they attack Israel with WMD and Israel responds in kind, do we get time to evacuate our troops? Or does Israel patiently wait a few days? Does the rest of the Muslim world ignore WMD exchanges between these two?
- Is Saddam unaware that if he uses WMD his entire country will disappear from the face of the earth?
- Will Osama bin Laden or Mullah Omar benefit or suffer from our invasion of Iraq?
- Most importantly, will the US benefit or suffer from an invasion of Iraq? Or will some Americans benefit greatly while others do the suffering?
There are more questions to ask, and most anyone could think of some. But let's not just stand around and admire this gift of conditioned opposition by some of the "Best People". It just might not be good for our needs in the long run. Better to make our own mark now.
J P Thomas
* * *
