by Mike Wolff
Daily Lobo Columnist
The time is coming when our mighty army of God will invade Iraq. Its ultimate leader, George W. Bush, perhaps feels so divinely inspired (and legally able) to do so even without the approval of Congress, and much less of that of the confused American people. Of least importance is the approval of the world.
So what ever happened to the values of democracy, consensus and the goals of a global government? The United Nation's key mission when it was created after World War II was to promote peace and stability by subjecting all nations to a sort of institutionalized global authority. The centuries-old anarchic international system, which allowed leaders of individual countries to pursue bellicose foreign policies without consideration of how that might affect the world, was supposed to come to an end. The idea was that leaders like Adolf Hitler would now be impeded by the unified and dedicated international community.
In 1991, people spoke of Saddam Hussein as another Hitler that must be stopped. There was consensus in the international community and at home, and the subsequent military actions stopped him. The Gulf War was not just the glory of the United States, but that of the post-Cold War world, the success of the consensus-based global authority.
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Soon after Sept. 11, 2001, the international community again came together, and supported a war on terror declared by George W. Bush. It was officially decided that Afghanistan was the root of all evil, and a forced regime change would be justified, necessary, and clearly approved by the community (at least in the West). Wham bam! Another victory for institutional global authority.
Now Iraq, again, but this time there exists no such consensus. George W. Bush now defies the United Nations, and laughs at all the weenies who had thought we could all get along, respecting each other's differences and opinions. Bush is becoming exactly what the United Nations was created to prevent, an audacious megalomaniac taking international matters into his own hands.
A unilateral invasion of Iraq will disastrously undermine the greater authority of the international community, embodied in the United Nations, which has for over 50 years been steadily maturing. It may be the end of the dream that we could, by using our intelligence and reason, become one happy and free world.
The German chancellor, Gerard Schoder, in response to Bush's criticism of his allies' disapproval, claimed that Germany and the United States are friends, and a true friend does not simply agree, but tells his friend the truth if he disagrees with what the other is doing.
A good friend would also listen. Our man, however, seems to be on a mission, and the sound of war trumpets muffles any friendly advice.
It also muffles any hoots and hollers from home. The American people are understandably apathetic, as turning the television channel spins our emotions more profoundly than full-scale war in some foreign desert, but nonetheless we do have opinions.
Despite feeling completely alienated from politics, we do remember sometimes that democracy is supposed to imply government by the people. If we are to govern ourselves, we may question the right of one guy to use our tax money to wage war, with consulting neither us nor the representatives we elected to congress. We may wonder how he can do that without even giving clear evidence of the urgency, the standard good/evil rhetoric notwithstanding. The fact that his lawyers have found loopholes in the Constitution that supposedly make such actions legal does not make the situation any more democratic.
There are, of course, many reasons why invading Iraq is both ridiculous and dangerous. We will have plenty of time to reflect upon the consequences when they come. But for now I will just complain of my disillusionment, of the great collective dream we had of democracy, institutionalized world peace, and mutual respect among humans, that will soon be shattered.
Questions and comments can be sent to Mike Wolff at mudrat@unm.edu
