The fun begins
Well, it looks like Bush has shined his pistols and put on his best pair of chaps. America, whether you like it or not, is going to war. While the rest of the world seems to be against military action in Iraq, Bush and his cohorts are ready to blow the smithereens out of Hussein and his material-breaching subjects.
Of course, the United States can depend on Tony Blair’s support and, with a measly $4 billion check, the help of Turkey. But that’s about all. No other nation, it seems, is coming forward in support of the United States.
I, as you may have guessed, have been on the side of our pacifist friends in Germany since the whole fiasco began. Rome, I mean, the United States must not set the precedent of going to war without sufficient reasoning.
The United States, if it hopes to maintain its role as the world’s omniscient superpower, must not go to war just because it wants to.
Sadly, many Americans can’t wait to go to war. Many Americans, I imagine, are stocking up on beef jerky and pork rinds, anxiously awaiting the all-day, all-night blood fest soon-to-be flooding our television sets. If Bush really wanted to make some money, he would put the war on Pay-Per-View.
With this overwhelming desire to go to war comes an overwhelming confusion of why other countries don’t want to get in on the action.
Especially now, with some 150,000 American troops being positioned throughout the Middle East, many Americans don’t understand why everyone else in the world seems to be shouting, “Stop, you stupid, power-hungry Americans!”
I, as well, have wanted to know the specific positions of different countries. Luckily, while reading the online edition of Le Figaro this weekend, I found an article written by Alexandrine Bouilhet that explained the political stances of several European nations.
As a way to educate us all on what at least a small portion of the rest of the world is thinking, I thought I might give a brief overview of the article.
As I have already mentioned, Tony Blair’s Great Britain is America’s only real ally right now. Though polls have expressed a majority of anti-war Britons, Blair has already begun sending troops to Iraq.
Spain, though not openly pro-war, is openly pro-America. Moreover, Spanish officials have stated that a second resolution from the UN should not be necessary to make any decisions; therefore, one might say Spain is on the verge of being pro-war.
In Germany, Chancellor Shroder has declared complete opposition to any military action in Iraq. In the upcoming vote within the UN Security Council, Germany plans to vote in opposition to any plans of further UN presence in Iraq.
France, though not absolutely opposed to war, regards military action as the last resort.
President Jacques Chirac has expressed fierce opposition to a unilateral American military effort. Chirac hopes to wait several more months before making any final decisions, allowing UN inspectors sufficient time to gather information.
Italy, Belgium and Greece, like France, look at war as the last possible option; moreover, it is an option that should be decided upon much further down the road by the UN.
Belgium and Greece have declared stern resistance to a unilateral American attack and, like the other countries, await a second resolution by the UN Security Council.
The only other sources of possible immediate U.S. support come from Poland and Turkey.
Despite an 80 percent anti-military action population in each country, officials seem firm in supporting a unilateral American attack if Iraq is in breach of UN resolution 1441.
Turkey has reportedly received an offer of $4 billion from the United States in order to compensate for any “damages” the country might incur while the United States uses its land for positioning purposes.
Does the rest of the world exist in a mindless vacuum where peace rules and war is just a bad word? Absolutely not. As I have just finished explaining, most European nations want to make the best decision possible, even if that decision is war; however, they do not want to start a war just because the U.S. is trigger happy.
Though the United States might be the most powerful nation in the world, though President Bush’s approval rating might be waning, though the economy might be terrible, the United States cannot and must not go against the pleads of the rest of the world. Especially in a time of war, the United States must not put itself in opposition to the rest of the world.
