A time for certainty
The heavier emphasis on Bush's religiosity, his supposed Manichaeism, and his allegedly simple-minded analysis of world affairs may all be signs that the antiwar movement is being shaped to fit the contours of the culture war. We hear little these days about Saddam Hussein's butchery or the relative ease of developing weapons of mass destruction, even with inspectors around. There is little discussion of the 5,000 Iraqi children who die each month because the oil revenue that could save them is diverted to Saddam's military. That's what Walter Russell Mead of the Council on Foreign Relations wrote last week in the Washington Post, citing UNICEF figures. Instead of concentrating on the reality of Iraq and its threat, the antiwar movement offers a content-free politics of gesture and good intentions: "Peace" is good and "war" is bad. "Books, Not Bombs," "Give Peace a Chance," and "Bush Is a Terrorist" signs abound, but there's not much in the way of argument.
It's dangerous to invade but more dangerous not to. Be glad Bush isn't out there wavering with all the ambivalent folks.
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