We went to war in Iraq because of weapons of mass destruction. Oh, there weren’t any, only misinterpreted intelligence, whether intentional or accidental.
We went to war in Iraq to stop the terrorist. The ones responsible for 9-11. Oh, there was and is no linkage between Sadaam Hussein and Al Quida.
We went to war in Iraq to free the people. Oh, crime is more rampant than ever before. Few venture out at night. There is a great possibility that eventually a fundamental Islamic regime will take power, automatically making the female population second class citizens and bringing repression.
We went to war in Iraq to bring our kind of democracy to the region. Well apparently they already had the type of democracy that our President stands for.
They had a leader who was not elected by a majority of the people just like us. They had a government where insiders and political cronies were awarded huge government contracts, without bidding or oversight. So we can’t teach them that, although we seem to have mastered the process. We can teach them overbilling. It is hardly likely that under Sadaam that was done without his approval. Upon reflection well maybe we can’t teach them that.
They had a system of justice where people were locked away for years without trials or lawyers. Has anybody heard of Guantanamo Bay or Padilla. So they already had our sense of justice.
Their court system was one in which the sentence was determined well before a trial. Didn’t our President indicate that Sadaam should get the death penalty even before it has been determined who will try him, where, and for what crimes and under what law. Well they already had mastered our leaders sense of the criminal justice system.
Well there still is a chance that we can teach them something. With the two recent Circuit Court of Appeals decisions, giving basic due process rights to the Guantanamo Bay captives and Padilla certain to go the Supreme Court, there still is a chance to show them that we believe in the rule of law, not in the edicts of the President. Under Sadaam the sham Iraqi Courts would have not dared to rule against him. Will our Supreme Court be a sham as it was during the 2000 election, or will it preserve our rights by preserving those of those we detain.
Around the world we are viewed as hypocrites. We attack Sadaam for not following UN mandates. Yet the UN did not sanction our attack. We talk of free trade and then put illegal tariffs on imported steel. We talk of preserving the Earth but walk away from the Kyoto accord.
We talk of justice and fair play. It is now up to the Supreme Court to show the world we are not hypocrites. It is up to the Supreme Court to show he world we still have a system of justice. It is up to the Supreme Court to give us back the moral high ground. It is up to the Supreme Court to show we are better than those we attack. Unfortunately if George W. is re-elected the Supreme Court will be stacked with his, his father’s and Ronald Reagan appointees. This might just be our last chance to show the world what this country has stood for, for over 200 years.