South Texas College of Law Annotations (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 33, No. 4, Ed. 1, February, 2003 Page: 4 of 12
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Page 4
Commentary
February 2003
By
Matthew
Riherd,
Guest
Colum-
nist
661
: has been frequently re-
marked that it seems to have
been reserved to the people
of this country, by their con-
duct and example, to decide
the important question,
whether societies of men are
really capable or not of es-
tablishing good government
from reflection and choice, or
whether they are forever des-
tined to depend for the po-
litical constitutions on acci-
dent and force." Alexander
Hamilton Federalist No. 1
What is most alarming
about the aftershocks of the
attacks is not that feeling of
vulnerability, nor the small
nagging fear of further at-
tacks, or the chest caving sor-
row of our loss. It is the deaf-
ening sound of silence that
has smothered our country.
When did it become so
wrong in our county to ques-
tion our government and the
powers that be? There is
more to being an American
than waving a flag, eating
apple pie and falling lock and
step behind the President.
Being an American means
arguing with your most hated
enemy till you are blue in face,
but dying to ensure your
enemy's right to speak his
mind. Being an American
means having the freedom to
be different. Being an Ameri-
can means not being afraid to
take an unpopular stance be-
cause all true Americans
know that it is the rancorous
debate of our democratic in-
stitutions that is the lifeblood
of our country.
War is a solemn and terrible
extension of politics that
should only be engaged in af-
ter profound consideration
and no other possible alter-
natives exist. We are asking
the sons and daughters of our
country to lay down their
lives because what we believe
as a nation, be it self-defense
or disarmament, is more im-
portant than their lives.
What troubles me most
about the war with Iraq is that
President Bush acts as if war
is a forgone conclusion. We
as a people must take the de-
bate out of the supposed cor-
ridors of power in Washing-
What Happened to Dialogue?
Marines from the Gulf Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines perform helicopter raid training
exercise.
Photo by Cecilio M. Ricardo, Jr., 1st Combat Camera Squadron (Released)
ton and back to the real
corridors of power. Those
of the street, the corner cof-
fee shop, the dinner table,
the classroom, and the of-
fice water cooler. Wherever
we as a people discuss our
business, we should make
this decision for President
Bush.
On December 1, 2002,
the Washington Times re-
ported that congressional
staffers and Washington
think tanks estimate that the
cost of invasion and occu-
pation of Iraq is in the range
of $ 100 billion to $200 bil-
lion. The liberation of Ku-
wait cost American taxpay-
ers $7 billion. The abbre-
viated costs were due to a
frenzy of diplomatic activ-
ity that guaranteed the
United States would not
shoulder the entire burden
of the war. Global Anti-
American sentiment ensures
that such help will not be
forthcoming in another war
with Iraq. We face all of this
with an estimated (accord-
ing to Goldman Sachs as re-
ported in the Washington
Times January 17, 2003)
$300 billion deficit in 2003
and $375 billion deficit in
2004.
The cost to the United
States will not be in dollars
alone. We are threatening
the powerbase of a mad
man. We are threatening to
invade the homes of the
Iraqi people. Let us not
forget that Saddam sacri-
ficed 375,000 of his own
troops, and killed 1.1 million
Iranians in a territorial war
with Iran. Saddam forced
Iran to sign a UN brokered
peace treaty when he be-
came the only leader in his-
tory to use a nerve gas, sarin,
in battle. Sarin is the same
nerve gas used in the Tokyo
subway attacks in 1996.
Battle on Iraqi soil and at the
gates of Baghdad will be
bloody for both sides.
The cost of war does not
mitigate the fact that
Saddam is a psychopath. He
regularly murders the
women and children of his
subordinates and citizens to
ensure their loyalty. He has
killed his own sons to ensure
the continued loyalty of the
rest of his family. In 1979
Saddam purged his govern-
ment of over 500 "non-party
faithful". Saddam gave the
honor of executing the un-
faithful legislators of the Iraqi
National Congress to the re-
maining faithful Congress-
men.
Our problem with Saddam
could be resolved without
resorting to war. Sanctions
and isolation forced South
Africa to abandon apartheid
and disarm its nuclear pro-
gram. Sanctions and isola-
tion have tempered Qaddafi
and forced him to give up the
Lockerbie suspects. Sanc-
tions have successfully con-
tained Castro for over 40
years. There are viable and
proven alternatives to war.
But if war is necessary to
ensure the safety of Ameri-
cans and to enforce the com-
pliance of all signed treaties
and agreements, then let it be
our decision.
What is of utmost impor-
tance is engaging in the dia-
logue of our nation with each
other and our government.
We as law students and le-
gal professionals are the pro-
tectors of truth, justice, and
the Constitution. We are the
artisans of debate. We
should be leading our coun-
try in this historic dialogue,
not following along with the
others. It is not only our right
to engage in this dialogue, it
is our duty.
//////
tTTTTT
The views expressed
above do not reflect views
of Annotations, Professor
Kelso, nor any members of
the Annotations staff. The
views and sentiment ex-
pressed above belong en-
tirely to the writer.
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Washington, Natherral J. South Texas College of Law Annotations (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 33, No. 4, Ed. 1, February, 2003, newspaper, February 2003; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth144557/m1/4/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting South Texas College of Law.