Some Reasons
It’s a ‘War’

In last week’s Herald, Neal Cronce of Bethel asks why the occupation is called the "War in Iraq." I’ve wondered about this too, and would like to share my conclusions.

Many of us are indifferent to politics, often not even bothering to vote. But once the nation is at war, patriotism kicks in, and of course, it’s crucial that we win. We must support our boys over there, and that includes the command structure right up to the Commander-in-Chief.

Never mind what the war is about—we must win because we’re us, we’re winners. Part of supporting the CIC is, when the time comes, voting. The close vote in the last election would have surely gone the other way if not for this boost for the Republican side.

Bush seems to like being a war leader. Remember how he strutted in a uniform when he announced triumphantly "Mission accomplished!" from the deck of the carrier? I think he has an Oedipal thing with his father, also a war leader, who had Saddam on the run and then let him get away. Our Bush wouldn’t do that. He hounded the dictator into a spider hole and then let Iraqis on our side finish him off. Forget about his queasy record in the National Guard.

Of course, war is a huge money-maker for industry friends of the Bush administration. When it comes to open-ended contracts, the Blackwaters and Haliburtans—now more of them in Iraq than military personnel—have never had it so good. A mere "occupation" can’t cut it when it comes to the bottom line.

The biggest advantage of war, though, are the almost infinite ways Bush can break the law, and then brush off objections with the ever-ready excuse: "We’re at war." Don’t like torture or arresting people without a warrant? Come on, Mr. Cronce, where’s your patriotism? There’s a war on!

Ernest Wright

Randolph

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