The war vote
The senior Democratic leadership says that the Bush administration should not politicize the war on Iraq. Let me get this straight. They are saying that in what passes for a representative democracy, our elected politicians should not have to tell their constituents exactly what their position is on this war. This ridiculous position, in itself, should be enough reason for any reasonable human to vote against a cretin like Daschle.
Still, it seems to me that a vote authorizing force against Iraq might be just a little late. Since it is commonly understood that hijacking four passenger planes and flying them into three buildings and an empty field is an act of war, what would we call it, then, if hundreds of planes had bombed Air Force bases at Edwards, Thule and Wright-Patterson and enemy armored divisions were occupying Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and the Dakotas? Ragnarok? You see, that's the equivalent of what we've already done to Iraq in the past six weeks with the help of our Turkish allies. In other words, this war is well under way regardless of how one feels about it.
I don't think Israel has forgotten that the last time the United States asked them not to respond to an Iraqi missile attack, our intrepid commander in chief reneged on his promise to finish Saddam Hussein. I suspect that Ariel Sharon will be just a little bit more willing to drop the hammer than was Yitzhak Shamir back in 1991.
Anybody else wonder if there are a few Air Force cowboys who've got "Killing an Arab" or "Rock the Casbah" cranked up in the cockpit as they drop their bombs between the minarets and all that? Then again, that's probably way too '80s for our current generation of flyboys, and something more on the order of Disturbed is probably in order:
Someone is gonna die
When you listen to me
Let the living die,
Let the living die
I think I should probably order that Enigma-David Sylvian-Enya chill-out CD one of these days. I'm just feeling a little less tolerant of "the religion of peace" and its practitioners ever since reading about the killing of the seven Christian charity workers in Pakistan. Regardless of how you feel about Christian fundamentalists, you must admit that we seldom shoot anyone execution-style, especially not people whose only crime is to be helping the less fortunate.
Granted, I'm a little more open to the notion of all things conspiratorial than your average guy, but does anyone else think the timing of the announced discovery of that 33 pounds of enriched uranium is just a little suspicious? Personally, I won't be surprised if they eventually find a UPS receipt from Calvert Cliffs addressed to one Mr. Saddam Hussein, Baghdad.
Since we're doing this war anyhow, I sincerely hope we do it without the blessing of the U.N. and the hapless gang of Euroweenies. And if we need a few extra troops to occupy Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia and any other former colony we happen to scoop up in the process, let's pull them out of Germany. If nothing else, it would be worth it just for the look of horror on French faces when they realize that Uncle Sam won't be around to keep the Hun at their feet any longer.
Speaking of the Hun, I assume we can all agree that Doris Schroeder is far too spitze for her little dumpling, Gerhard. What does she see in him? Then again, I don't understand what the German electorate sees in the man either. The German chancellor makes Sen. Daschle look like a wise and fair-minded leader of the people by comparison.
Considering how many innocent Jews died at their hands, you would think that the Europeans would be at least a little circumspect in criticizing how Israel is handling its war against the Palestinians.
Regardless of when this war officially gets underway, I don't think there's any need for all this apocalyptic talk. Of course, if Heimdall blows his horn from the Rainbow Bridge, all bets are off.