The Greater Point in Iraq

I wrote a short version of this for my Senior Seminar class. We did a project on the war, and I wrote my opinion down on paper. Here is the whole of my ideas about the war in Iraq...

The war in Iraq isn’t just about WMDs, Bush, insurgencies, or oil; its about much more. Since the beginning of this nation, we as Americans have stood up for the rights of all peoples, cultures and creeds.

With the Bush doctrine, we declared that, “America will lead by defending liberty and justice because they are right and true and unchanging for all people everywhere.”

Harry S. Truman declared that, “totalitarian regimes imposed on free people, by direct or indirect aggression, undermine the foundations of international peace and hence the security of the United States.”

FDR looked forward, “to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms… freedom of speech and expression… freedom of every person to worship God in his own way… freedom from want… freedom from fear.”

President Lincoln praised those who, gave the last full measure of devotion,” to these freedoms.

And finally it was James Monroe that declared, “that the American continents by the free and independent condition which they have assumed and maintain, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers.”

All the examples above speak of American commitment to freedom and the lengths to which we go for those freedoms. But none of these speeches, proclamations addresses, or doctrines set the goals of the American people in terms of freedom more than a one-page declaration. It said that, “whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government… to effect their safety and happiness.” It is this Declaration of Independence that formally declares that, “all men are created equal,” and it is this natural law that we as Americans see as our most central and vital of ideals.

The people of Iraq, Somalia, Darfur, and Rwanda are all our brothers in this global community and when your brother is in trouble, you do whatever it takes to see that they are treated the way they should be treated.

We can hold ourselves to higher standards and believe that there are moral absolutes, but still suffering continues in these areas. We can create awareness, talk with leaders and even send aid, but until the injustices cease we cannot, WILL NOT, stand by and see the freedoms of these men and women stripped away.

Iraq exemplifies the extent to which we will stand up against tyranny. Dissenters of the war may cite oil, lies, or just plain Presidential idiocy as the reasons we went to Iraq, and with some merit. Wars are never about just an ideal, and it would be naive for me to say that this war is any different. You do not foster good feelings and cooperation through the violence of war. War is ugly. War is hell. All wars, no matter what the context, are crimes. They're crimes against the combatants and crimes against the innocents.

But there is a time where violent means are the way to reach the end we all want: peace. Peace for ourselves, for our children, and for our neighbors. If we violate the sovereignty of a nation that has clearly forfeit their right to rule by oppressing their people, I will sleep better at night knowing we did something about it. And if some good comes out of the ashes of this particular mess in Iraq, then I consider it a job well done.

In the West Wing, just after I finished my presentation, I saw an episode that talked about just this point. President Bartlett said...

We're for freedom of speech everywhere. We're for freedom to worship everywhere. We're for freedom to learn... for everybody. And because in our time, you can build a bomb in your country and bring it to my country, what goes on in your country is very much my business. And so we are for freedom from tyranny, everywhere, whether in the guise of political oppression, Toby, or economic slavery, Josh, or religious fanaticism, CJ. That most fundamental idea cannot be met with merely our support. It has to be met with our strength.

We have come to resent and despise our strength and our morals, and we should be for the freedoms of all people everywhere. Sure, our good boys will die for something they did not start in the first place. But as long as they sign up to defend what they believe in, then people will keep signing up and will gladly put themselves between harm and their neighbors in the global community.

True, those future wars might have high costs monetarily. They may be entered with some ulterior motive in mind, and we can't change that. But to every man, woman and child whose lives have been made safe from tyranny, it doesn’t matter under what pretext they received their freedom. At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is that they are free