Should We Trade Victory For Defeat?
By Randall Nunn (12/17/03)
No sooner had the capture of Saddam Hussein been announced Sunday morning, than the liberal media immediately began calling for the "internationalization" of the Iraq reconstruction and prosecution of Hussein.
These calls would be laughable were it not for the fact that they were made with serious expressions and aired widely as if they were the conclusion of all thoughtful people. To "internationalize" these efforts at this point would make as much sense as a team in the last quarter of the Super Bowl calling a time out and inviting coaches of other teams that had tried to defeat the contender to advise the coach on the best way to end the game and then share the publicity and financial rewards with their erstwhile opponents. These calls may reflect sappy-headed thinking of liberals who have an aversion to saying anything congratulatory about any success of the American military or maybe they are the conditioned response of the Bush-haters in the media. I tend to think they are a combination of both.
To involve the United Nations or the International Court of Justice at this point would be a mistake and an insult to the United States military and its allies in this war. Many member states of the United Nations opposed the efforts of the United States in Iraq, as did much of the leadership of the UN, including Kofi Annan. The United States and its allies defeated Saddam's military in an impressive display of military might--quickly and with minimal loss of life. Those who did not share in the burden or risks should not now share in the economic benefits of reconstruction contracts or the credit for the toppling and capture of Saddam Hussein. Neither should the leftists at the International Court of Justice or the usual claque of anti-American academics be involved in organizing and conducting the prosecution of this dictator. The Iraqis who were the victims of this tyrannical regime, supported and assisted by the United States and its allies in the war, should be entitled to put their own house in order by administering justice.
The problems in Iraq are not over and there will be a continued need for American military presence. But despite the media's spin that Saddam Hussein's capture creates as many problems as resolution, the conditions are in place to begin the process of creating a free Muslim country in the middle of Muslim autocracies--an oasis of freedom in a desert of feudalism and backwardness. The long-term outlook for stability and improving conditions in the Middle East is better than it has been for some time. The fact that this was brought about by force of American arms and the resolve of President Bush is immensely frustrating to the U.S. left and anti-American leftists worldwide. ABC News on Sunday night reported that the response of the Iraqis to Saddam's capture was "muted". If dancing in the streets, shooting in the air, burning pictures of Saddam and joyful singing and chanting are "muted" responses, I would not want to see an unrestrained celebration. The only "muted" response Sunday and Sunday night was that of the media who now must adjust their attacks on President Bush. Give them a day or so and we will learn that many more problems were created by this capture than we realized. It is a good thing these media types were not around after the battle of San Jacinto or we would have learned that the capture of Santa Anna was a complicating problem--the likelihood of increased Mexican attacks, Hispanics angered by his "humiliation" and the need of involvement of other nations in the decision of what to do with a captured dictator. Good thing for us the media types were not there or Texas might never have been created and George W. Bush might never have learned to admire the traits of honesty, courage and determination.
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