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When a war has to be 'sold' to the people, we should question it
Date published: 11/29/2002
ONE OF THE MOST common and successful ways of coun- tering those who oppose your position is to belittle them, portray them as being uninformed and pampered, or as being part of the social fringe and out of step with reality.
Such is the case with Shaun Kenney's Nov. 19 op-ed ["Pacifist thought safe for the campus, dangerous in the real world"] criticizing the students of Mary Washington College, and by extension, anyone who opposes President Bush's drive to war against Iraq.
Mr. Kenney contends that "this shortsighted (as demonstrated by student actions) notion against war is completely indefensible." This criticism of the students and his attempt to sell this criticism to the rest of us is based more on pushing emotional hot buttons than rational, coherent argument. Just as President Bush has done, Mr. Kenney uses an appeal to our goodness, sense of fair play, and fear as justification for war.
In his statement "war for just reasons is perfectly moral because it presupposes violence for just goals," I would certainly be interested in knowing who determines the just reasons.
Also, are those reasons because Saddam Hussein killed Iraqi Kurds who rebelled against his government? If that is the case, we should immediately go to war against Turkey, a nation that is systematically hunting down and killing (does it matter by chemicals or bullets) Turkish Kurds in open rebellion against the Turkish government.
Could the just reasons be because Saddam has shown no qualms "about bringing war to his neighbors"? If so, perhaps we should also wage war against other Arab states (Egypt, Syria, Jordan) that have waged four wars against our ally, Israel.
One of those states, Syria, is also on the State Department's list of nations that sponsor terrorism and provides support to those Islamic fundamentalists currently attacking Israel. Aren't we in a war against terrorism? Aren't we going to treat those who support terrorists the same way we treat the terrorists?
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Date published: 11/29/2002
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