I have a great
respect for General Powell when I read Bob Woodward's award winning
book, The Commanders, when the author cited that during the progress
of the coup deta't attempt in the Philippines in 1989, he declined
to employ the U.S. Air Force to strike the rebel forces on the grounds
that the "Filipino people will not forgive America", if
the administration of President Bush would interfere in the internal
affairs of the Filipinos. Then, General Powell is the Chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States of America.
After his stint as the top brass in the military establishment of
the most powerful country in the world, General Powell, presently,
is the Secretary of State designate under the presidency of the son
of President Bush. As the presidential adviser on foreign policy,
the general proved the U.S. case before the United Nations that Mr.
Saddam Hussein is a bad man. Unfortunately, however, I was not convinced
that he was able to bear out waging war against Iraq is justified.
Reports against Mr. Saddam of his sordid human rights violation may
be indisputable. But the practicality of exposing to the harm's way
Canadian soldiers is highly debatable. I have the following questions
in mind:
One, if the U.S. intelligence agencies know that indeed Iraq have
stored massive weapons of destruction and they knew where the location
is, how come they cannot exercise the option to strike Iraq's arsenal
surgically, rather than waging a full scale war? The Israelis were
able to do it in the 80's. How come U.S.A. cannot execute similar
plans?
Two, if indeed it is true that Iraq have large stockpiles of all sorts
of weapons for mass destruction including nerve gas and nuclear warheads,
then, what good is the U.S. strategy to amass invasion troops and
conduct mop up operations when those weapons of destruction are blown
till kingdom come? Would there be an Iraqi left walking or any building
left standing when nuclear bombs far more potent than those that were
dropped in Nagasaki and Hiroshima would blow up, triggered by carpet
bombing and missile assaults from U.S. battle ships and high altitude
attack bombers?
Three, if the nerve gas were pervading the air in Iraq and nuclear
fall out is hovering the atmosphere all over the Middle East, how
is America going to clean up the toxic environment? If thousands of
Iraqis would die as a result of these atrocities, would Saddam get
the blame for the canard committed against the innocent hapless and
helpless Iraqi population who were victims themselves by the tyrant
dictator?
Four, after the war, what's America going to do to restore civility
and semblance of governance assuming there are still Iraqis left after
mega tons of nuclear bombs exploded? Is America going to install another
dictator, but subservient to their bidding? Or, they are going to
impose American system of democracy that is alien to the local culture?
Is America prepared to restore the destroyed institutions in Iraq
on a long haul?
I find the case presentation of General Powell weak. I would even
venture to say that his colleagues in White House are brain anaemic.
Let me cite the war preparations that the Secretary for Home Defence
Security proposed to prepare the Americans for a worst case scenario.
Americans were told to procure duct tapes to seal their house from
nerve gas.
Lindor Reynolds, columnist of Winnipeg Free Press sensitively
asserted in her news column that the matter is not something to make
fun with. I agree. Going to war is not a light subject. Nonetheless,
I find the instructions idiotic.
Sealing the house with a duct tape in case of nerve gas war is like
giving out ridiculous instructions that when a nuclear bomb is drop
from the skies, all we have to do is hid under the dining table, or
run behind a tree.
I had been receiving emails from all over the place to pray for American
moms who may lose their sons and daughters in case a war erupts in
Middle East. I replied with a question why restrict the requested
prayer to moms of American soldiers only. What about Iraqi mothers
who would lose their sons and daughters too? Are Iraqi mothers different
from American moms?
Now that everything had been heard, the conclusion of the matter is:
General Powell's case for war is as tangled up as the duct tape defence
in a nuclear war.
