I try not to talk about the “war” anymore. Those who agree with me tend to take on the most… I try not to talk about the “war” anymore. Those who agree with me tend to take on the most insightful sort of tone – “blessed am I to be granted this interminable wisdom” – to tell me the most mundane facts I already know, and, in all likelihood, I was the one to tell them about in the first place. Those who disagree with me tend to not have a grasp on any relevant facts whatsoever.

I’m pro-war by the way.

Sure, people who oppose the war have a hold on various pieces of knowledge. They know the United States has a habit of supporting dictators whenever it’s convenient to do so. They might even know the United States supported and empowered Saddam Hussein in his war against Iran.

They know that after a successful campaign, American – possibly U.N. – forces will occupy Iraq’s oil fields. They know North Korea is closer to posing a nuclear threat, yet we are more committed to a diplomatic resolution there. They know uranium enriched weaponry used in the Gulf War has caused cancer in Iraqi children. They know Hans Blix told the Associated Press he now senses a “positive attitude” coming from Iraq.

They also “know” a variety of other things that just aren’t true. They “know” U.N. sanctions caused millions of Iraqi children to starve. They “know” that Bush is plunging the world into war simply to divert public attention from his economy – people, he’s not that clever.

They “know” that removing Saddam’s regime will only spark a chaotic swirl of Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds, all warring with each other for power, and committing atrocities that will leave the region longing for the peaceful, secure times of Hussein. And, at a teach-in I attended a few weeks ago, they told me that an invasion of Iraq could trigger a nuclear holocaust.

They probably don’t know that Iraq owes France and Russia billions of dollars that won’t get paid if Hussein is overthrown.

The thing is, none of this matters. It’s all either absurd or irrelevant.

But that doesn’t stop anti-war proponents from making stands behind it. People have a tendency to take a daunting, serious issue, and embrace some fringe aspect of it as the real truth, the real issue at hand.

These fringe aspects eventually gain credibility from the media, but, for the most part, they represent desperate attempts to keep you interested, to offer a fresh perspective on an issue that has been dragging for almost a year.

The real question at hand in this instance is much bigger than any of the elements found in anti-war arguments. In years to come, will leaders – who wish to terrorize their own people, develop weapons of mass destruction and threaten their neighbors – fear any repercussions from nations of the civilized world? Or, will they feel free to realize their demented aspirations to power at the expense of their people and the world?

What lessons is North Korea taking from the current showdown with Iraq?

U.N. Security Council Resolution 1441 calls for “serious consequences” if Iraq fails to fully cooperate and disarm. Give the inspectors more time? More time to do what? Be thwarted by Iraqi intelligence? A dossier recently released from Tony Blair’s office indicates that while the United Nations has only 108 inspectors, Iraq has 20,000 intelligence officers working to disrupt the inspections and conceal weapons, according to the Associated Press.

Last week, Secretary of State Colin Powell presented recordings to the United Nations of phone conversations between Iraqi intelligence officers about whether weapons had been successfully evacuated from certain sites.

So, now, again, Iraq says it will cooperate. It’s OK’d U2 surveillance flights and turned over some documents it denied having before. What else is new?

If people actually believe that last week Iraqi officials were overcome by a sincere willingness to cooperate then, well, they’re naive. It’s the same old game we’ve seen a hundred times before. Enough is enough.

If the United Nations fails to act, we must do so. If Hussein is permitted to emerge unscathed after all that he has done, both the United Nations and the United States will cease to command any diplomatic power anywhere in the world. And that is far more frightening than the effects of uranium enriched weapons or temporary, though violent, turmoil in post-war Iraq.

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