With less than one month behind him, President George W. Bush has already made headlines with his father’s most famous crusade.
To recap, on this past Friday afternoon, the United States and the United Kingdom sent two dozen planes to Iraq. While we were engaged in eating lunch, the planes engaged five sites outside of Baghdad.
So once again like a glitch in ‘The Matrix’, it’s deja vu all over again. The job that wasn’t completely finished two administrations ago has now become a priority.
The last thing that President Clinton wanted to do was start a war with anybody. This was often at the expense of the ceasefire agreements that both sides agreed to to end the Persian Gulf War.
Two years ago, the US dropped some bombs on Iraq, but they amounted to little more than an idle threat of real sanctions that never came.
Still, while some can place some blame on former President for not being strong enough, others have criticized former President Bush for being too strong.
One must simply look back to Vietnam and wonder why we ever got involved with Iraq in the first place.
Americans were told that a helpless nation was being invaded by a harsh dictator. But let’s get real. This was, and still is, about oil.
There’s enough oil buried in the Middle East to keep Bob Ross and his oil paint saturated for eternity. We’ve bombed Iraq again because we don’t want to pay $2.00 a gallon for gas. We want to drill in Alaska because we’re worried about oil.
President Bush is surrounded by many of the same cabinet members that his father had near him more than eight years ago.
There might be old grudges and scores to settle from the last full-blown assault. But at what price? Lives will be ruined if another war breaks out. Lives could also be ruined if no action is taken and Saddam continues to build his chemical and nuclear arsenal.
There has also been concern over possible Iraqi interference in Israel. Iraq unchecked could be the begining of a Nazi-esque regime that committed some of the most heinous crimes in recent history.
Any act of war is a tough decision to make, but that is why politicians have the power that they do. They are elected into office to serve the best interests of our country. Sometimes the true best interests can only be fully realized while looking through the rear-view mirror at history.
A nation broke apart during Vietnam. Now, we face another imminent skirmish with Iraq.
What is unsure is where this situation is headed, and what damage will result. One thing is for sure, George W. won’t be ignoring Iraq like Clinton did.
