For thousands of years man has been waging war in the name of freedom and liberty. For thousands of years people have been killing each other and have failed to achieve "world peace." In the case of the war in Iraq, fighting for peace is indeed futile and will only serve to end thousands of innocent lives too early and aid in the destabilization of the world community.
At this point in time of world history, the United States and the United Kingdom have absolutely no right to act as the moral authority of worldly affairs. As the wealthiest and most powerful nation on the planet, we need to set an example that will breed peace in the international community and here at home. Politicians justify American aggression in the Middle East with dubious claims of Iraqi connections to terrorists and claim to have the support of the international community. There is no doubt that the American aggression in the Middle East is a perfect example of a rich man's war being fought by patriotic poor American men and women.
Many war advocates use history as a justification for military action against Iraq. Admittedly, Saddam Hussein is a man with a history of bloodshed and oppression. In no way do I support his regime and am completely aware of the devastation it has caused the Iraqi people. But, it is also undeniable that the recent history of American and British military intervention throughout the world is stained in blood.
The indiscriminate bombings of Southeast Asia in the 1960s and 1970s, in addition to killing and deforming hundreds of thousands of innocent people, led to the destabilization of the region. Consequently, the Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot were able to take control of Cambodia in 1975. Pol Pot's regime oversaw the systematic genocide of over three million innocent Cambodians in the following years. Ironically, and embarrassingly, the Khmer Rouge's reign of terror was only ended by the same Vietnamese communists that thousands of Americans died fighting only a few years before. American authorities remained quiet while millions were killed in the Rwandan genocide of the 1990s. Most recently, American forces justly defeated the tyrannical Taliban regime in Afghanistan, but have since abandoned the Afghani people to the will of warlords, terrorists, and an impotent central government.
The British have a long history of imperialism and military conquest. The British government brutally oppressed hundreds of millions of people in Asia and Africa for hundreds of years. For centuries, British military forces have been responsible for callous murders of innocent Africans and Asians. The imperialist extraction of economic resources and oppression of millions has greatly contributed to the current suffering of billions of people around the world today. American and British imperialism in Iraq is immoral and unjustified. Mr. Hussein is often criticized for his brutal treatment of ethnic minorities, such as the Kurds, within Iraq. The US government has brutally and immorally murdered, cheated, and oppressed the native peoples of this country for over 200 years! The treatment of people of African heritage in this nation is well known and I do not need to extrapolate on 300 years of slavery and oppression. Appropriately, I deny the US and the UK and right to claim the authority to act as this planet's moral police.
President Bush has already asked Congress to provide almost 80 billion dollars to cover the costs of the war in Iraq. Does this make sense? We as the American people are paying 80 billion dollars to kill our fellow human beings in an unnecessary war! If President Bush allocated 80 billion dollars for constructive and progressive programs such as education in the inner cities or Medicare, then our nation could solve innumerable problems that face us everyday. Recently, a school for children in Jamaica Plain has been shut down due to lack of funds. Personally, I would prefer tax money spent on education than killing. Two months after 9/11, talks were held in Doha, Qatar with the intention of reducing the motivations of terror by helping the world's poor. This promise has gone unfulfilled and the $50 billion that rich nations spend on foreign aid annually is far less than the cost of the war. Our tax money should be spent fighting AIDS and poverty, not on tanks and multi-billion dollar bombers.
Appalling war crimes have already occurred in the Iraq conflict. Reports of Iraqi forces committing atrocities against Americans sadden me greatly. I believe American forces are taking innocent life as well. Dozens of people have died from American missiles missing their military targets. I believe this is a war crime as well. To me the innocent loss of life in any form is not simply "collateral damage," but a crime against humanity. It is easy for people to say they support the war against Iraq because of the promised disarmament of a dangerous regime and better life for the Iraqi people. I challenge war advocates to volunteer themselves or their loved ones as soldiers in the war. Only then, will they be able to speak in support of the war without a trace of hypocrisy. Dead Americans and even more dead Iraqis are not the sign of progress, but of a barbarous trap that mankind has been stuck in for thousands of years.
With the level of anti-American sentiment dangerously rising all over the world, the US government needs to set the moral example of truly believing in peace and world harmony. Peace breeds concord, and violence breeds hatred. Wars have been fought for millennia and have still not brought about world peace. We as human beings must look to love, wisdom, and understanding to solve our problems. As the sole global superpower, the US government and the American people need to set the example for the rest of the world to follow. So let us, as the American people, urge our government to do away with the violent policies based on barbarous ignorance with imperialist intentions.
Tyrants around the world are using the war in Iraq to commit atrocities that go unnoticed. Let us uplift the poor of the world through monetary aid and collective security. Let us prove to the world that Americans are not violent imperialists by ending our policies of destabilizing violence, and by fostering an era of peace, love, and generosity towards all mankind. I hope this war comes to a swift end and our soldiers come home safe. My fear for the future lies in the long-term problems that American imperialist aggression will cause among the depressed and hostile peoples around the globe. Whatever happened to "Thou Shall Not Kill"? We are all one people, so let's act like it.
Sunil Purushotham is a sophomore majoring in history.
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