A (Very) Brief History of the Middle East Part 16: The Finale

“A (Very) Brief History of the Middle East” is drawing to a close. We have explored the region, done our best to understand the varied histories, beliefs, and politics behind the conflicts that have thrown Middle East into chaos, and are, I hope, that much closer to understanding the world around us.

So far I have done my best (I acknowledge there have been some slips) to provide an unbiased, objective assessment of the facts and situations currently embroiling the region, and it has been a struggle. I am but a humble blogger, dear readers, but as anyone who knows me can attest to, I’m an opinionated blogger. And now you will hear what I have to say, like it or not.

I am blogger, hear me roar.

4 Years, 3,000 Lives, $500 Billion: Was It Worth It?

I don’t support war on principle. I’ll admit that I’m a peace lover and wish that lives never needed to be lost. President Bush has faced harsh criticism since the outset of the invasion of Iraq that it was an unnecessary evil, that he has sacrificed lives and resources for ill-conceived war mongering.

Despite my anti-war stance, I do believe that there are at times necessary evils, and in certain instances war is necessary. I don’t believe that this was one of those instances. I don’t believe that the invasion of Iraq was necessary.

Saddam Hussein didn’t pose an imminent threat (any more so than in the rest of his 30 year reign of terror). His “cache of weapons of mass destruction” was never found and seemingly amounted to little more than poor intelligence (damn you and your “slam dunk” George Tenet). Attempts to tie Iraq to Al-Qaeda were weak at best, and Saddam had not committed any (more excessively) egregious human rights violations since the last time a Bush could have captured him during the first Gulf War.

That being said, I will now assert my unpopular opinion and say that I supported the invasion then, and I support the war now. Do I contradict myself? Good. I contain multitudes (Walt Whitman allusion. Read a book).

Let me attempt to clarify. No, I don’t believe the war was imminently necessary. If the US had not invaded Iraq, Saddam would still be ruling the country with his brand of tyrannical politics, the country would probably still be at the boiling point of sectarian violence (if it had not yet spilled over on its own), and the Iraqi picture would look much like it looked in the ten years following the Gulf War: Poverty stricken, oppressed, fear and hate-filled.

But do any of those things, directly, have anything to do with America? No, aside from oil (and realistically Iraq doesn’t supply us with that much of our oil anyway) we could very easily not give a damn about the problems in Iraq. America could have remained uninvolved, and remained safe…for a while.

The question is: how long do we imagine peace bought by isolationalism would have lasted? So many war protestors are screaming for us to stay out of world affairs, but as the world’s superpower the United States can’t afford to turn inward and ignore the plight of countries in which we have a vested interest. How quickly we forget Pearl Harbor, where the exact same isolationalist thinking made us a target of Japan.

Putting American interests aside, I do believe that while the Iraqi war has not gone according to plan, it has done some good for the international community. Let’s look at what was accomplished:

A despotic regime that had for years terrorized its citizens, killed hundreds of thousands, destroyed its nations economy, and been a consistent thorn in the side of the rest of the world was deposed. I really don’t care what your views on international politics are. I’m an ardent independent and I pride myself on seeing the bullshit on both sides of the line. Conservatives, you’re full of it for manipulating intelligence, for exaggerating or concocting Al-Qaeda ties and weapons caches to whip the nation into war frenzy. You lied to the American public, and I wouldn’t expect forgiveness. And let’s not forget your refusal to acknowledge that this war has gone to hell.

But don’t get too comfortable on that high-horse, liberal protestors. Your platform exalts justice for all, on caring for the poor and sick and suffering. Where was this compassion when it came to the citizens of Iraq, suffering and dying just like the men and women of Darfur? If we were to intervene in this genocide burdened region of Sudan,
would you support or protest? It’s a lose-lose for you. Either way you’re a hypocrite. If you support intervention, then there is no reason you shouldn’t support intervention in Iraq. If you protest, you stand directly against one of your core beliefs, the belief that America must help those who can’t help themselves. That’s a tough spot to be in.

I believe America has a responsibility to act on behalf of those who can’t protect themselves. It was inaction that led to 6 million Jews dying in the Holocaust, millions of Cambodians dying under the Khmer Rouge regime, and millions more dying in genocides plaguing African and Latin American nations. As the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. said “He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.”

Saddam Hussein was exactly the breed of genocidal maniac that needs to be removed from power. Does anyone really believe that sanctions and diplomacy would have accomplished this end? He had already defied the UN, expelled weapons inspectors from the country, and violated the resolutions created following the first Gulf War. Saddam simply did not care about UN intervention because he knew the UN was weak. They are reluctant to agree to the use of force, and sanctions only hurt the people of Iraq, not Saddam himself.

So, while I do not think the invasion of Iraq was imminently necessary, I do believe it was justified (look forward to a future post about this absurd belief in “justifiability” concerning warfare).


There it is. As an idea, I support the invasion of Iraq. Surprised? Disgusted? Aghast? That’s fine. Tomorrow I’ll contradict myself with a counterpoint. Inner conflict…exciting.

Thanks for reading,