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PRESIDENT BUSH might never convince Ted Kennedy, Martin Sheen, and Barbra Streisand to support war against Iraq. But he's got an even more important ally now: Oprah Winfrey.
The queen of Feelings TV dedicated her show Wednesday to what we should think--"Think!" She actually used the word--about the prospects of war to topple Saddam Hussein. The seriousness with which she treated the subject should make CNN's Larry King and PBS' Charlie Rose blush.
From the start, it was clear where our fair hostess was trying to steer the legions of Oprah Nation: toward the side of President Bush and the liberation of Iraq.
"We're doing this show so that we can all begin to find the moral clarity which I believe we need before making monumental decisions that will change the fate of the world," she said.
All bear witness to the intellectual breadth of Oprah! "Girls Night Out" on Monday. "The Fate of the World" on Wednesday. Stunning.
Her first guest was Kenneth Pollack, a member of the Clinton administration's National Security Council in charge of U.S. policy on Iraq. Pollack is the author of "The Threatening Storm: The Case for Invading Iraq," called by hawks and doves alike essential reading for those who want to understand Saddam Hussein. Oprah's Book Club may never command more respect.
Forget about Bush "not making the case," says Pollack. The case is closed. "Iraq is uniquely threatening to the United States." Saddam has made use of terrorists in the past, and would do so again with biological and chemical weapons if he had the chance to improve his current capability which, for now, is "fairly limited."
But the window to stop him is closing fast. Saddam is an unstable, unpredictable menace to the world who "doesn't think the way we do" (read: rationally), which is why reasonable measures like sanctions and weapons inspections are wholly ineffectual.
"There are many countries around the world who thought that they could keep Saddam under control," Pollack told Oprah. "They failed to do so and they paid a very heavy price, ourselves included."
What about people like former weapons inspector Scott Ritter, who claim Bush is exaggerating Saddam's weapons arsenal and desire to use it? Idiots.
"Tiny amounts of biological agent can be tremendously dangerous in the wrong hands," says Pollack. "And what we know for a fact from a number of [Iraqi defectors] is that Saddam is absolutely determined to acquire nuclear weapons and is building them as fast as he can."
All through the interview, Oprah was nodding and interjecting "yeah, yeah"--a scene surely mirrored by millions of soccer moms who'd no sooner watch Nightline than let their kids ride their bikes without a helmet
Next up was Entifad Qanbar, a member of the exiled Iraqi National Congress, who told what happened to him after he made a joke about Saddam that was overheard by dangerous men.
Four armed men handcuffed and blindfolded him and his brother and hauled them off to prison. "I swear to God, I saw the most horrific scene in my life. Nineteen people inside. They're all naked like zombies, black eyes and all shaved heads."
Qanbar remained in that cell, naked and hungry, for 47 days.
"They beat at us. They humiliated us, and they killed seven of my best friends.I learned from this bad experience the depth of dirtiness of Saddam's regime. I learned how important democracy and freedom is to everybody in the world."
Saddam, says Qanbar, is "absolutely not" liked by the people of Iraq. Little wonder. "It's the only country in history to put rapists on the government payroll," says Qanbar.
Later, Oprah had New York Times reporter Judith Miller come on to explain how Saddam convenes huge gatherings of his senior officials, calls out names of alleged traitors, and has them shot on the spot. He's been known to pull a "Scarface" and kill members of his cabinet during meetings just to make a point.
Miller continued: "He's had the wives and daughters of dissidents raped and the tapes of these rapes sent to the people who have fled the country just to torture them--so that they should know that they may have escaped, but their family has not."
At this point, Oprah's audience was in a state of shock. Why couldn't this be a show about how to inject excitement into a boring marriage, they must have thought. Or how to protect our kids from soccer injuries?
Because these are different times--more serious times. Oprah gets it. And so, reluctantly at first, did her audience.
"Oprah Viewers Patiently Awaiting Instructions" blares a headline in the peerless satirical newspaper The Onion. To the chagrin of the increasingly desperate anti-war factions in America, parody is becoming reality.
The mighty army of Oprah Nation has been enlisted in the war effort, and it may prove to be President Bush's greatest ally.
JAMES G. LAKELY is assistant editorial-page editor of The Free Lance-Star.