A Just Cause

Discuss this on our boards!

A Just Cause
by Robert Yoho, Columnist and Senior Editor

March 17, 2003

"Eye on Conservatism"

Columnist Robert Yoho In the past few weeks, we have seen the anti-war protests by hypocritical Washington Democrats, liberal Hollywood elites, and scarcely a handful of America’s college students. I find it particularly strange that these groups that are now protesting a war against Iraq were strangely AWOL when their beloved President Clinton was taking military action in Bosnia and Kosovo or launching cruise missiles at aspirin factories in the Sudan. Adding to the hypocrisy is the fact that these actions were also not sanctioned by that antiquated monument to global impotence, the United Nations.

Despite the insurmountable evidence to the contrary, I do not wish to believe that Bush’s challengers for the presidency are so unpatriotic and unforgivably self-centered that they would want him to fail, thereby leading to the deaths of more American armed forces personnel. They do, however, want Bush to delay any actions in Iraq.

Their reasons for this are not principled; they are patently partisan. In the current state of world affairs, we are experiencing a strange dynamic, where foreign and domestic policy have become inseparably linked.

A weak and feckless foreign policy places our nation at greater risk from North Korea and other thugs and terrorist states. Doubts about our national security will inevitably lead to further harm to the economy. And the only cure for this is a president who dares to exhibit bold leadership at home and in the world.

If our nation is strong and decisive in matters of foreign policy, then it is our country’s economy that will reap the peace dividends of overwhelming military force.

These successes in foreign policy will result in energizing a somewhat stagnant economy. A quick and decisive victory in Iraq will undoubtedly lead to lower gasoline prices at the pump, which will pump up the confidence of investors on Wall Street.

Perhaps that is the only outcome feared by the pacifists and protestors at home and abroad. A strong and vibrant America will lead to a strong and vibrant President George W. Bush!

The nations that oppose our action in Iraq also have economic interests in that country that may be irreparably harmed and/or discovered by our military success. Our armed forces would no doubt find evidence of weapons violations that the UN inspectors couldn’t. And it is quite likely that some of those on the U.N. Security Council have been engaged in trade with Saddam Hussein that is in direct violation of current UN sanctions.

Some of Bush’s detractors have also criticized the president for taking on Iraq by claiming that North Korea is a more serious threat. I think this line of thinking is dramatically flawed.

I cannot argue that North Korea—with its nuclear capacity—is certainly a threat! However, the way to mitigate that danger is not with weakness, diplomacy, appeasement, or a seeming lack of resolve. The way to keep dictator Kim Jong Il in check is to boldly finish what we have already started in Iraq.

After all of the talk about the dangers of Saddam Hussein, after all of the hand wringing by freedom’s enemies at the UN, and after all of the region’s massive military build-up, the United States and President Bush cannot afford to back down from this conflict.

To do so would be seen as a sign of weakness to the Communist dictator of North Korea. It would also place our country at much greater risk. If we later choose to negotiate with the North Koreans, then it is crucial that they first witness the military might of the nation whose diplomats are looking at them from across the table.

This is not a battle—as some partisans have speculated—to help the former President Bush save face. This is not a battle for Iraqi oil. This is not a war to finish the unfinished work of Desert Storm.

This is a battle for our survival. This is a battle for the preservation of our freedom. This is a frontal assault on terrorism and the purveyors of worldwide fear.

Victory in Iraq will bring hope to the fearful public and restore the nation’s confidence that 9/11 is merely a page from our history and not a part of our future. ***

Photo of Robert Yoho courtesy of staff files