Articulate rationale for taking the war to Saddam now, the UN notwithstanding.
An excerpt...
Our armed forces will fight for peace in Iraq — a peace built on more secure foundations than are found today in the Middle East. Even more important, they will fight for the two human conditions of even greater value than peace: liberty and justice. Some of them will perish in this just cause. May God bless them and may humanity honor their sacrifice.
March 12, 2003
March 10, 2003
Safire Speaks to UN's Fractious Reality
Safire's column is a 'must read' for an articulate opposing view of the defenders of the United Nations as a force for peace. That it is not! People place false hope in the UN and that's unfortunate because it cannot deliver the goods when the chips are down.
Chirac is Out to Lunch
"Our position is no matter what the circumstances, France will vote 'no.' Because we think tonight there is no cause for war to achieve the objective that we fixed - the disarmament of Iraq," Chirac said in a televised interview.
Jacques is living in a dream world. wouldn't it be neat to know the real motivations driving the leaders of the countries opposed to disarming Hussein by force?
Jacques is living in a dream world. wouldn't it be neat to know the real motivations driving the leaders of the countries opposed to disarming Hussein by force?
March 8, 2003
Friedman Again Mostly, Not Completely, Right
Friedman believes we should not go it alone in Iraq and he makes a good case, primarily concerning the aftermath of war. He says this is a war of choice. It is, based on Bush's policy of preemption enunciated many months ago, last summer, I think.
If Saddam has WMD and won't give them up, they must be taken away from him, sooner rather than later. If taken by force that must be done before the summer season. It would be ridiculous to stage 250,000 troops and logistics support in that part of the world and do nothing for an extended period of time. Friedman apparently does not understand the basics of warfare. You go when you have the advantage, not when the advantage slips because of weather, morale, or other factors.
If Saddam doe not have WMD, then Bush is making a serious mistake to mount an offensive. However, our intelligence must be correct or he would never take this gamble.
He's right that rebuilding Iraq is a task that would benefit from international help. However, the help Russia, China, Germany and China would provide would be 'to help themselves' and to protect or expand their investments. We have no economic investment in Iraq, so our motives on that score cannot be impugned.
If Saddam has WMD and won't give them up, they must be taken away from him, sooner rather than later. If taken by force that must be done before the summer season. It would be ridiculous to stage 250,000 troops and logistics support in that part of the world and do nothing for an extended period of time. Friedman apparently does not understand the basics of warfare. You go when you have the advantage, not when the advantage slips because of weather, morale, or other factors.
If Saddam doe not have WMD, then Bush is making a serious mistake to mount an offensive. However, our intelligence must be correct or he would never take this gamble.
He's right that rebuilding Iraq is a task that would benefit from international help. However, the help Russia, China, Germany and China would provide would be 'to help themselves' and to protect or expand their investments. We have no economic investment in Iraq, so our motives on that score cannot be impugned.
March 7, 2003
The Holocaust is Real
Thanks to Emily Guziak, Free Press correspondent, for excellent coverage of the story and the clear, incisive comments in Friday's Burlington Free Press (3/7/03) and to Henry Greenbaum for continuing to tell the true story of the Holocaust and his experiences at Auschwitz in the early 1940's. This reality must be kept continually before our eyes and our consciousness. Thanks to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC, which I visited last year, for carrying the truth to our age and supporting this seminar at UVM. Those who would deny the Holocaust are misguided bigots. We cannot let their venomous lies go unrefuted. The truth must be told these days and forever.
Applause for Mr. Greenbaum for sharing your experiences! I hope the Vermont teachers who attended this event at the University of Vermont will bring the truth to their students. Genocide is not a relic of a bygone era and cannot be ignored. It must be confronted because it has happened many times (Serbia, Cambodia, Rwanda, etc.) since WW II. This crime against the human race is a travesty of evil that the United Nations is practically ineffective to prevent.
How can thinking people deny the obvious fact that evil dwells in the heart of man? Of course, good is present within people, too, but left to the devices of the heart, the sin of man will flourish unless evil is called it's true name and challenged for what it is at every turn. Our society would like to deny the reality of evil and attribute its revelation to bad upbringing, a disadvantaged youth, no chance in life, deprivation, genetic predisposition, drugs, capitalism, communism, and myriad other excuses. The suggestion that Man will evolve to a better state if provided all the correct stimuli is a myth. The only salvation for man's inherently evil heart is salvation through Jesus Christ!
Applause for Mr. Greenbaum for sharing your experiences! I hope the Vermont teachers who attended this event at the University of Vermont will bring the truth to their students. Genocide is not a relic of a bygone era and cannot be ignored. It must be confronted because it has happened many times (Serbia, Cambodia, Rwanda, etc.) since WW II. This crime against the human race is a travesty of evil that the United Nations is practically ineffective to prevent.
How can thinking people deny the obvious fact that evil dwells in the heart of man? Of course, good is present within people, too, but left to the devices of the heart, the sin of man will flourish unless evil is called it's true name and challenged for what it is at every turn. Our society would like to deny the reality of evil and attribute its revelation to bad upbringing, a disadvantaged youth, no chance in life, deprivation, genetic predisposition, drugs, capitalism, communism, and myriad other excuses. The suggestion that Man will evolve to a better state if provided all the correct stimuli is a myth. The only salvation for man's inherently evil heart is salvation through Jesus Christ!
March 6, 2003
Vermont's Act 60 is Dead Meat
After 40+ towns defeated school budgets on Town Meeting Day this week, the message must ring clearly in Montpelier: Act 60 is a failure both as a funding mechanism and as an incentive to increase the quality of our public schools. The data I've seen reported is the bill for K-12 public education in Vermont has risen from $600 Million to nearly $ 1 Billion in a half a decade years while enrollment has declined and quality is flat.
This unsustainable trajectory leads to fiscal carnage. Our children aren't benefited in any substantial way, though in some towns who have spent substantially more on education than before Act 60, I'm sure some improvements can be demonstrated.
Governor Douglas is right to call for control of expenditures in any replacement or Act 60. Re-crafting Act 60 into something that works for both students and taxpayers must be the Legislature's highest priority. Failure to deliver on this difficult challenge should be considered failure by the people of Vermont.
Since local control of school funding and performance is a myth, perhaps it's time for one 'Vermont school district.'
This unsustainable trajectory leads to fiscal carnage. Our children aren't benefited in any substantial way, though in some towns who have spent substantially more on education than before Act 60, I'm sure some improvements can be demonstrated.
Governor Douglas is right to call for control of expenditures in any replacement or Act 60. Re-crafting Act 60 into something that works for both students and taxpayers must be the Legislature's highest priority. Failure to deliver on this difficult challenge should be considered failure by the people of Vermont.
Since local control of school funding and performance is a myth, perhaps it's time for one 'Vermont school district.'
Million Dollar Salaries
If true that each of these guys will be paid a million dollars for 10 45 second spots on 60 Minutes, we have once more crossed the bridge to absurdity. However, I suppose Viagra is expensive and legal bills have mounted up...
Ugh!
Ugh!
March 3, 2003
A Kurd From the Great Beyond
Safire brilliantly captures the post-war dilemma posed by the ethnic Kurds in northern Iraq and Turkey. Intriguing how insignificant are political borders in the centuries-old ethnic and religious struggles.
March 2, 2003
Freep Says NO on Act 60
Today's Freep editorializes that folks should veto school budgets locally to force the Legislature to fix Act 60. If people respond to this appeal, most certainly action will be needed. As I've written before, Act 60 is broken. Enrollment declines, property taxes in support of schools continue to rise, education quality does not improve commensurate with the money spent on small class sizes and other enhancements. The problem must be fixed.
We Vermonters must cap school costs. Many ideas are surfacing to help with this, e.g., Statewide this, that and the other. Local control of education is a myth. Local control cannot accomplish the Supreme Court's ruling which led to Act 60.
Is Vermont small enough to have one school system? I wonder. What harm in modeling it publicly, openly, inviting full debate? Not political rhetoric, or special interest bleating, but a thoughtful look by pragmatists at what such a system would cost and what it might potentially deliver. Such work could be of more value than most Legislative Summer Study committees.
d-
We Vermonters must cap school costs. Many ideas are surfacing to help with this, e.g., Statewide this, that and the other. Local control of education is a myth. Local control cannot accomplish the Supreme Court's ruling which led to Act 60.
Is Vermont small enough to have one school system? I wonder. What harm in modeling it publicly, openly, inviting full debate? Not political rhetoric, or special interest bleating, but a thoughtful look by pragmatists at what such a system would cost and what it might potentially deliver. Such work could be of more value than most Legislative Summer Study committees.
d-
Friedman's Analysis...The Long Bomb
Insightful commentary by Thomas today. As usual he's mostly right, but not completely. The Iraq war and its following experiment in democracy is a big gamble and could only be conceived on two bases: first, Saddam must have WMDs, or we'll be the laughing stock of the world. Our intelligence must not fail us this time. Second, Bush has chosen Iraq for his attempt at nation-building precisely because it is not a place dominated by radical Islamic extremists. The switch from a tyrant to freedom and 'the rule of law' may have a good chance for success.
Nevertheless, the adventure is fraught with risk and uncertainty and our policy will take years to demonstrate success.
On balance, assuming the intelligence is correct, it's a risk worth taking. The best results are: Saddam and his henchmen are gone; WMDs are found and destroyed; oil is pumped freely from a modernized infrastructure, hopefully Iraq is not part of OPEC; people are free and their creative energy can be focused on capitalism and living their dreams. This is the right, principled thing to do.
This is a big risk, but more power to the Bush administration for taking a breakthrough approach to counter the backward cultures in that part of the world created by misguided, power-hungry Islamic zealots.
Nevertheless, the adventure is fraught with risk and uncertainty and our policy will take years to demonstrate success.
On balance, assuming the intelligence is correct, it's a risk worth taking. The best results are: Saddam and his henchmen are gone; WMDs are found and destroyed; oil is pumped freely from a modernized infrastructure, hopefully Iraq is not part of OPEC; people are free and their creative energy can be focused on capitalism and living their dreams. This is the right, principled thing to do.
This is a big risk, but more power to the Bush administration for taking a breakthrough approach to counter the backward cultures in that part of the world created by misguided, power-hungry Islamic zealots.
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