War. Probably I should just keep my mouth shut, but there you go.

I’d like to accomplish the supposed goals that the Iraqi war would attempt to accomplish. I think Saddam–if not just a frontman for larger interests–has been trying to undermine UN authority for decades; I think his efforts are escalating; I think it’s probable that he’s attempting to build weapons specifically to cause civilian damage. This should stop.

If we had competent leadership in this country, war might not be necessary. I think Bush has played into Saddam and terrorist hands in domestic and foreign policy, taking an additude of “my way or the highway” and “good vs. evil” at a time when this can only provoke dissent among our allies and citizens. What should be happening? It should be obvious that Saddam has been undermining UN authority: all states in the UN not allied with Saddam should be dead-set against him. Instead, it looks like Saddam undermines UN authority, but the US undermines it more. It should be obvious that Saddam oppresses his people. Instead, we have people who think Bush is more oppressive than Saddam and are willing to die on that basis.

I agree that something must be done and done soon. It may even be war.

Bush II is a fool who listens to fools (a good bit of the time) and appoints fools to positions of power. Take a moment and imagine Colin Powell–if we have to have a republican–as president. Would we be here? Would we look like–and in some areas, be the bad guys?

Probably not.