Apr 9th, 2003, 11:01 PM
Yeah
Well I suppose I'll take you up on your offer. Being an American, and better yet a tool of the government at that, here is what I think.
I must admit that I had a bit of shallow, dirty, unethical pride with watching that statue come down this morning. I confess that it goes against the love of humanity and is nothing but blind patriotic crap, but I felt a little pride. Not so much in this nation, or it's policies, but specifically the folks that have been over there busting there ass and doing things that few of us could ever imagine to make what happened today a reality.
I'm sure that todays television images that will be replayed over and over again do not represent the whole picture, as I'm sure just as some Arabs cheered the symbolic fall of Saddam, some jeered and shook their fists in anger. The idealist in my hopes there were more of the former. However irrational it may be, I gaurantee you those guys in tanks that witnessed all of that today felt like they did something to make the world a better place, however symbolic and small it may seem.
Anyway, I hold no illusions as to what the future may hold. I'm sure there is a tough road ahead, and there is no gaurantee that all will remain peaceful. Perhaps its the war in me, but I am always a skeptic when it comes to such things. You know, if something seems to good to be true, it probably is. I still harbour some fears of some impending disaster or last ditch effort by the regime or Saddam loyalists.
It is my sincere hope that what will follow represents the rhetoric that has lead us here. I hope that me make sound decisions with regards to bring stability to Iraq, and I idealistically hope that our future actions in Iraq will ease some of the Anti-American sentiment amongst Arabs in the region.
I am thankful that to this point this has been relatively painless. While I'm sure the families of those who've been directly affected on both sides would hardly consider it painless, in the big picture things have not been as disasterous as could have been expected.
Oh yeah, one more thing. As for my own personal sentiments towards other nations who did not participate, I hold no grudges. What has happened in Iraq transcends petty "I told you so's". It wasn't, at least I hope, about proving anyone wrong, it was about doing what is hopefully the right thing even if some didn't agree. I think the French and Germans should be fully allowed to participate in the peace process. I hope the matter heads back to the U.N. as that would be a much more effective body to organize peace and humanitarian aid in my opinion.
I don't really like Canadians anyway cuz they talk funny and they didn't force Celene Dion's mom to have an aborotion so I guess Canada's lack of participation in the Iraqi war haven't made me like Canadians any less.
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