U.S. needs Iraq policy of mercy, not might
I'm too naive and not wise enough to gauge what is in the best interest of my country. And if President Bush, with the approval of Congress, decides for war, then I will support that decision.
It is clear that President Bush with every ounce of his will and strength (and ours by default since he is our President) desires to oust Hussein from power in Iraq. And perhaps it is sufficient not to have a \smoking gun."" Iraq probably is a ""grave threat""'certainly to Israeli interests and by extension to U.S. interests given our level of unilateral support of the Israelis. Bush's cup is half full.
However, you don't need to be an expert in foreign affairs to notice that Bush's cup is half-empty. Even columnists favorable to Bush, such as Maureen Dowd, comment that Bush did not excel at managing the Texas economy. That's not his strong suit. Neither are environmental issues, nor multilaterlism, nor balancing the ""stick"" with the ""carrot."" We hear nothing of Marshall-type plans to help Africa or South America. One need only examine to the recent issue of Isthmus and read about Milwaukee school/economic development woes to ponder the lingering appearance of apartheid in America. Of course this is not an issue with Israel in the Middle East. The statistics in the October 2002 issue of National Geographic on the West Bank can certainly be misleading.
I'm too naive and not wise enough to gauge what is in the best interest of my country. In these troubled times few acts of mercy are in view. In my mind's eye, I still see the Armenian priest walking towards the church in Bethlehem (during the stand-off) carrying water to the Palestinians. In our times, the cup we bear is half empty. I would hear from those who showed mercy. What advice would they give? To what would they freely consent? I would hear from that Armenian priest.
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