Sunday, December 14, 2003
The world continues to adjust to a world with Saddam Hussein not free. But when Bush speaks about Hussein facing justice, let's hope against hope that he means it. Let's hope that the system that gave us Guantanamo Bay, an unstable regime in Afghanistan that they've turned their back on and ignored, the continued propping up of a tyrannical regime in Israel, the defiance of internationalism and a gung-ho occupation of Iraq caused by incompetence and lack of preparation, can actually deliver the goods.
I think it's a comic book, where a policeman is kidnapped and mentally and physically assaulted. When he's finally rescued he tells his men to capture his assailant by the book. It's not enough to just get him, he has to be shown that our system is better than his, is nobler, is righter. It's not enough that Hussein has been captured. He must be put on trial with the maximum of fairness, with every resource he needs to defend himself and we must be confident that our case is strong enough to get a conviction. I would personally prefer for him not to be put to death if found guilty. Not out of any sense of pity, quite the opposite. I want him to die an old man, seeing that Iraq was made a better place for his removal. I can't believe that there is an afterlife where he will receive punishment for his crimes on earth, so I want him to see his work undone while on earth and to die knowing it has resulted in a better country. This is what the Allies claim they want, here's a chance for them to finally do the right thing at last.
This is something that can involve the international community, while opinions may have differed on invading Iraq all were agreed that Hussein was a tyrant. His prosecution can be the long ignored opportunity for the US to finally rebuild bridges with the rest of the world, after coming begging to them for the cash to rebuild Iraq and then insisting that they can't take part in that rebuilding. The US is not strong enough to fight a war with the whole world, here at last is a chance for Bush to finally embrace a new idea for once in his life and a chance for the international community to act in a spirit of harmony for once. If the US squander this chance once more, or display more petty minded childish behaviour then Saddam Hussein will have triumphed again.
I mean take this for an example of what I'm talking about. Or this. Or even this. It's ironic that while the Right were criticising the anti-war coalition and calling them appeasers, it seems they were the ones closest to Hussein as they were jealous of his occupation of the gutter of morality and are eager to join him there as quickly as possible.
I think it's a comic book, where a policeman is kidnapped and mentally and physically assaulted. When he's finally rescued he tells his men to capture his assailant by the book. It's not enough to just get him, he has to be shown that our system is better than his, is nobler, is righter. It's not enough that Hussein has been captured. He must be put on trial with the maximum of fairness, with every resource he needs to defend himself and we must be confident that our case is strong enough to get a conviction. I would personally prefer for him not to be put to death if found guilty. Not out of any sense of pity, quite the opposite. I want him to die an old man, seeing that Iraq was made a better place for his removal. I can't believe that there is an afterlife where he will receive punishment for his crimes on earth, so I want him to see his work undone while on earth and to die knowing it has resulted in a better country. This is what the Allies claim they want, here's a chance for them to finally do the right thing at last.
This is something that can involve the international community, while opinions may have differed on invading Iraq all were agreed that Hussein was a tyrant. His prosecution can be the long ignored opportunity for the US to finally rebuild bridges with the rest of the world, after coming begging to them for the cash to rebuild Iraq and then insisting that they can't take part in that rebuilding. The US is not strong enough to fight a war with the whole world, here at last is a chance for Bush to finally embrace a new idea for once in his life and a chance for the international community to act in a spirit of harmony for once. If the US squander this chance once more, or display more petty minded childish behaviour then Saddam Hussein will have triumphed again.
I mean take this for an example of what I'm talking about. Or this. Or even this. It's ironic that while the Right were criticising the anti-war coalition and calling them appeasers, it seems they were the ones closest to Hussein as they were jealous of his occupation of the gutter of morality and are eager to join him there as quickly as possible.
