On
Monday, February 10th, this Editorial written by John Williams
appeared in the Chicago Tribune.
The right way to enter into a war
Get
this: I don't know if the United States should invade Iraq--and
I'm a talk-show host! Can you imagine? It amazes me too.
Like
many of you, I feel strongly about this. I probably read, think
and talk about it more than most people. I discuss it every day.
Some days, I'm moved by a thoughtful article or e-mail about the
horrors of war, the massive loss of lives, the unusual pre-emptive
nature of a U.S. first strike. And I worry about the terrorism
we're buying.
Other
times, I see our cause as just and Saddam Hussein as an imminent
threat. I'm convinced he's hiding weapons. I even think the people
of Iraq will ultimately appreciate our ending his reign.
It
all boils down to this: Since it is clear that the government
of Iraq is lying about its weapons program, should we go to war?
And what annoys me, even troubles me, is how certain many Americans
are in their response to this. We're the ones who complain about
the 1040 tax form, can't program a VCR and don't know how to take
a cassette out of that plastic case. But we have a considered
opinion about what the correct foreign policy should be with a
country most of us couldn't find on a map.
As
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell was finishing his remarks
to the UN Security Council last week, CNN scrolled: "Powell's
proof: Are you convinced?" As if our instant opinion mattered.
I'm convinced Powell was telling the truth. (His dove-to-hawk
transformation in the last few weeks, culminating with his restrained
but precise arguments, is a marketing masterstroke.)
And
I am equally certain that I don't know enough about the issue
to make a decision that I would bet your life on. Your son or
daughter's life, to be more precise.
The
banter bothers me too. This isn't about bringing down a bully
or standing up for what we believe in. The back-yard jingoisms
we hear so often on radio and TV talk shows ignore how devastatingly
important these next few steps are. Can we afford to be wrong
about this? Act too aggressively too soon and we create more trouble
than we prevent. Or wait too long and another date of terror will
forever be etched in our minds. Which is it? Are you sure?
"You're
damn right I'm sure!" the calls come in. They are incredulous
that anyone could be so anxious to fight/unwilling to fight. At
times like this, I defer to people who know more about the topic
at hand--the same way I go to a doctor or an electrician.
War
with Iraq is probably all that Powell and Vice President Dick
Cheney and others in the administration are doing. Me? I'm thinking
about my sons' basketball teams, lunch, Michael Jackson, should
we go to war, a party I've been invited to, getting the plumber
to fix the radiator, chopped salad, heightened alerts.
I
don't want to exclude us. And policymakers should hear us out
on virtually every other domestic issue. Let's you and I even
debate the issue of war with Iraq. But let's hope President Bush
isn't listening too closely.
If
you accept my premise, that people who are engaged by reality
dating TV shows shouldn't be asked to decide if hundreds of thousands
of Iraqis should die, then you have to ask yourself how much faith
do you have in the people who, in fact, will make that decision.
If it does come to war, I trust that will be the informed choice
of exceedingly intelligent people whose only objective is to secure
greater safety and freedom for Americans. They have more information
about it than you and I do.
I
think we have the right people in position to assess these things.
I pray that their information is correct and that history will
see our cause as necessary. Personally, I hope that the right
choice is not to go to war, but when CNN revealed the results
of its Colin Powell survey, I also hope our leaders weren't looking.
Copyright 2003 Chicago Tribune
