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War
On Iraq
As Americans, we call
upon our government to proceed with caution in its military pursuit.
The young American men/women who make up our military and the
twenty some million Iraqi people deserve our utmost attention to avoid any
undue loss of life and exposure to chemical/biological weapons.
The Iraqi leader,
Saddam Hussein is no doubt a brutal dictator who has caused the Iraqi
people enormous suffering through his own oppressive tactics of executions
of thousands innocent Iraqi civilians, torture, deportations, hindering
access for available medicine/food causing widespread malnutrition among
other atrocities. He has
created a state of terror and deprivation amongst his people.
He has engaged in military operations
that have resulted in thousands of deaths of Iraqis.
He effectively has embarked on a slow course of genocide against
his own people. He shows no regard for life, in general.
He continues to be a threat not only to his own people but also to
his neighbors and beyond.
The United States
government is justified in its concern – for the threat Saddam Hussein
poses to his people. The American people are justified in their concern to avoid
unnecessary war and the future of world discourse, the level of anti-
Americanism promoting future terrorism and the future for the next
generation.
Well, we must
understand our role in support of Saddam Hussein in the past and learn
from our mistakes. We must understand that we must fortify the implementation of
international laws through the United Nations and through The Hague –
aggressively pursuing indictments for those responsible for committing
crimes against humanity. We
must learn that acting unilaterally runs a risk for other countries to
model our behavior. We must
promote the reduction of the economic gap in the developing countries and
promote democracy abroad. With
the advent and propagation of weapons of mass destruction, there is just
too much at stake.
We must move forward,
learning from the past and looking toward the future for our sake and the
sake of humanity. It is this
principle of a commitment to humanity that we Americans must embrace and
not be manipulated by the political term “patriotism” which is used to
justify much in its name.
We pray to God for the
American men/women in the Gulf region, the Iraqi people as well as our
future. We ask God for guidance and may He lead us to the path of
peace. |
