by Tom Wise
Originally published October 2004.
I was speaking with a friend today. She's a Democrat. Liberal. Bush-hater. She makes no bones about it. As is common today, she also makes a link between George Bush and Christian conservatives in a conspiratorial way. While the connection is obvious, she concentrates on the more sinister aspects, much the same as hippies of yore connected the military and industry into a complex. In her mind, there is no question that George Bush invaded Iraq for its oil, and that he justified this move by marking Hussein as a madman-monster with delusions of world domination and stockpiles of WMDs. She also accuses Pres. Bush of using the Christian flag to lead the brigade. Sort of a Christian-Texan complex. A new Crusade, if you will. To some, this may sound like gifted vision. I think it's quite naive. First, Iraq is not the only country that has oil. Venezuela has oil and is closer to home. Saudi Arabia has oil and would be much more likely to accept an American military presence to preserve the kingdom peace in exchange for exclusive oil rights. Kuwait is chock full of oil and easy to invade as well. In fact, Iraq is one of the more dangerous countries to invade. It borders Iran, Turkey, and Syria, and is almost totally landlocked. It had a Communist dictator as ruthless as Stalin, and also divisive Islamic factions bent on taking control and destroying each other. It has a fairly-large, harsh terrain. Second, she does agree that Hussein is and was a madman, a monster, and a mad scientist looking to take over the world. She also agrees, with reservations, that he did use WMDs on his own people. She just feels that we should have had either more proof of the WMDs or else sent in more troops initially so that American troops wouldn't have suffered so many casualties. However, if we had deployed more troops, and Hussein DID have WMDs, then those troops might've been wiped out. All in all, the cautious deployment was the best move. Third, I disagree that the Christian flag is being used as a banner to herald the invasion for oil. I believe the invasion is ALL about Christianity. In fact, I think even the claims of seeking out WMDs was a secondary consideration. Oil, a third. The primary agenda in Iraq, I believe, is to contain the spread of terrorism....period. By terrorism, I am of course speaking of Islamic terrorism, which is the tool used by the Arabs to further and complete their religious and cultural overtaking of this world. I believe George Bush as well as John Kerry are quite aware of the spread of Islam and its influence in such places as the Sudan, Indonesia, Australia, China, France, and the United States, as well as the influence of the extremist Muslims in homelands such as Saudi Arabia (a kingdom), Libya (a dictatorship), and Iran (a former shahdom). I'm sure Bush and Kerry both realize the power wielded by the PLO, Hamas, the Taliban, and other black stocking operations. The difference between the two candidates is that Kerry wants to negotiate in various ways and by various means, likely either by imposing useless sanctions or else giving economic aid, while Bush has no intention of doing either. Perhaps Kerry would eventually use force, but Bush has made himself clear on this point. Terrorism is now verboten, both by the President's edict in September 2001, and de facto in the name of everything human. Terrorism is not about frustration, it's about Power. This mindset of power through violence is spreading. Bombings are becoming common worldwide. Never mind the IRA. They are small pumpkins compared to the PLO and its ilk. The IRA is not looking for anything beyond the borders of Ireland. The US invasion of Afghanistan was meant to find bin Laden, the mastermind behind the WTC attack. Invading Iraq had nothing to do with that. I believe Bush's plan was and is to flush out terrorism everywhere and destroy it. Why pick on Iraq? By deposing Hussein, and ridding Iraq of the dictator's iron grip, Islamic groups would be more likely to initiate a struggle for the ultimate power in Iraq. The terrorist groups would be more ready, willing, and able to launch such an offensive. In effect, by getting rid of Hussein, we exposed the terrorists and their desire to conquer and control. Look what has occurred. Since we've invaded Iraq, Al Zarqawi has come to light as a terrorist Mr. Big holed up in Northern Iraq. Fallujah has been revealed as a munitions dump. According to military sources, nearly every house in Fallujah had hidden enough armaments to start a small revolution! Neither Al-Zarqawi nor Fallujah are results of the US invasion. Zarqawi has been there for years, and the arms were built into the WALLS of Fallujahan homes years ago. We may not have found WMD, but we have found a country that is literally wall-to-wall with terrorists and their weapons. We've also uncovered training camps for terrorists, file cabinets with master plans for bombing American and European cities, and (let's not forget) videos of torture and beheadings that are medieval, gruesome, and terrible. It may be that other countries have such things, but that doesn't make the terrorism nor violation of human rights any more just or justifiable in Iraq. The invasion of Iraq should actually be seen as as the ONLY humane decision. Shouldn't human rights activists be APPLAUDING this administration for finally doing something about Hussein's oppression, his sons' rape rooms, and terrorism's abductions and violence in that country? Shouldn't feminists be applauding the freedom now enjoyed by Afghani (and soon, we hope, Iraqi) women? Shouldn't America in general be applauding a decrease in the number of terrorists and their armaments on this planet? Shouldn't Jews be applauding that we are FINALLY going over the head of the anti-Semitic United Nations and no longer relying on their witless inspections and impotent sanctions? Shouldn't Christianity be applauding the protection of Christians worldwide by this move? Shouldn't civilization be GRATEFUL that America is standing up NOW (rather than later) to the seemingly-unstoppable force of Islamic conversion and what that has meant in countries like the Netherlands, Pakistan, Spain, and elsewhere? As to this, my friend thinks that the Arabs are minding their own business, that the oil is theirs (as opposed to America's food being "the world's"), that their inner squabblings and domestic issues are not pertinent to America. She thinks that terrorism is awful but is a product of oppression, on a par with, say, the Watts riots. She is an isolationist (as is John Kerry) who believes that Christianity, especially American Christianity, is not only interfering, but also provoking Islamic violence. She questions not Muslims but Christians. Specifically, she thinks Christians suck. This is based on her experiences with people who claim to be Christians, yet are overtly anti-black, anti-Jew, anti-"queer," or who otherwise engage in things violent, oppressive, or pornographic. I responded to my friend this way: these people are not Christians because this is not how Christians are supposed to act. They are frauds. I begged her, please don't think Christianity is bad or Christians are bad because there are fakers, or even extremists who quote the Bible to justify their own sins. I concluded by asking her to reconsider her own reactions. I said, "If you meet someone like this in the future, please don't say to yourself, 'See, Christians suck.' Instead, say to yourself, 'THAT's not a Christian.'" My friend seemed a little taken aback. I asked her, "Do you think that Islamic terrorists who invoke the name of Allah are true Muslims?" She said, quite swiftly, "No, Islam is a peaceful religion." "Then," I said, "why do you not accord the same thoughts to Christianity?" Her response, believe it or not, is that it would be better that we bombed the Vatican than Iraq. I don't know if there's a connection, but my friend is Catholic.
No comments:
Post a Comment