Friday, January 28, 2005
To those who oppose the war in Iraq:
This is it. Twenty-four hours to go until Iraqis take to the ballot boxes. The world is watching, and there are clearly many people who have a stake in these elections failing. We all know who these people are. But there are a great many people who are ambivalent, or worse- actively wish ill on the elections solely because they are a result of a policy that originated with the President. That, my friends, is wrong.
For all the Bush haters out there, for all the pundits who think it is clever to spell Republican with a triple “k”, I have a challenge for all of you. For one day, less probably by the time you hear of this, devote some of that energy to wishing success to the people of Iraq in this election. Forget for one day your raging anger and calls for us to abandon Iraq. It’s not going to happen, and for this single day we could use your support. You can resume your attacks on the Administration on Monday- because you live in a free land.
I know that none of you really believe that Saddam was better for Iraq than liberty and freedom will be. I hope you all know that we who support this war feel deeply the loss of every American service member, and wish that every Iraqi injured or killed had been born in a free land, and spared this horror. But they were not.
It took a revolution to form the United States, and in that war we relied on a powerful foreign ally. Lest you forget, we had people in the colonies that did not support our revolution and took up arms with the enemy. In those days we called them Tories- perhaps today we would call them insurgents. History, I think, has proved them wrong. It is my fondest desire that future generations will feel the same about the Baathists fighting to continue their oppressive regime in Iraq as we feel about the Tories today- largely forgotten, consigned to the waste bin of history.
The people in Iraq want our soldiers out of there, and I understand that. You want our soldiers out of there, and I support that too. I want our soldiers home. But I want them to have left behind a nation of free people, with a chance for a better tomorrow. So what do you say, can we all agree, for just one day, that these elections are vitally important, and that American politics can be safely set aside while we watch, and support the birth of a new democratic nation? Can we all hope that the Iraqis are able to vote safely, that the Baathists and their allies are unable to sweep the country in a spasm of carnage?
I’ll be watching, and hoping- hoping for a safe election in Iraq and hoping that all of you are with me, if only for one day.
(end of post)
1/28/2005 09:43:00 PM posted by Dr. Demarche
For all the Bush haters out there, for all the pundits who think it is clever to spell Republican with a triple “k”, I have a challenge for all of you. For one day, less probably by the time you hear of this, devote some of that energy to wishing success to the people of Iraq in this election. Forget for one day your raging anger and calls for us to abandon Iraq. It’s not going to happen, and for this single day we could use your support. You can resume your attacks on the Administration on Monday- because you live in a free land.
I know that none of you really believe that Saddam was better for Iraq than liberty and freedom will be. I hope you all know that we who support this war feel deeply the loss of every American service member, and wish that every Iraqi injured or killed had been born in a free land, and spared this horror. But they were not.
It took a revolution to form the United States, and in that war we relied on a powerful foreign ally. Lest you forget, we had people in the colonies that did not support our revolution and took up arms with the enemy. In those days we called them Tories- perhaps today we would call them insurgents. History, I think, has proved them wrong. It is my fondest desire that future generations will feel the same about the Baathists fighting to continue their oppressive regime in Iraq as we feel about the Tories today- largely forgotten, consigned to the waste bin of history.
The people in Iraq want our soldiers out of there, and I understand that. You want our soldiers out of there, and I support that too. I want our soldiers home. But I want them to have left behind a nation of free people, with a chance for a better tomorrow. So what do you say, can we all agree, for just one day, that these elections are vitally important, and that American politics can be safely set aside while we watch, and support the birth of a new democratic nation? Can we all hope that the Iraqis are able to vote safely, that the Baathists and their allies are unable to sweep the country in a spasm of carnage?
I’ll be watching, and hoping- hoping for a safe election in Iraq and hoping that all of you are with me, if only for one day.
(end of post)
