Michael Tomasky writes, in the American Prospect, very clearly and concisely what so many of us (maybe the majority?) are thinking and saying. I hope that good comes of the current war, and that is not an unreasonably optimistic belief. But, we’ve sure stepped on a lot of toes getting there.
A small quote:
History will not end the day the white standard is run up the flag poles of Hussein’s palaces. People and societies have memories, and they will remember the staggering number of distortions and pieces of misinformation that helped set this war in motion. They’ll remember the administration saying that it would seek the imprimatur of a second UN resolution, and they’ll remember the “no lunch, please, we’ve only got an hour” summit at which that pledge was tossed out the window. They’ll remember Colin Powell’s “hard evidence” presented at his Security Council briefing in February, and they’ll remember just how much of that evidence didn’t hold up to tough scrutiny. In France and Mexico and Turkey, they will remember the arm-twisting and bullying and childish caterwauling — and even if you don’t care about those countries, you can bet that Tony Blair will remember just how far he stuck his neck out for an administration that was willing to hang him out to dry, too, and he won’t be likely to do it again.
The day this war starts, the world enters a new era of global Darwinism in which a structure of covenants and norms — admittedly far from perfect, but at least the result of an ongoing dialogue of nations — that has developed over the last half-century will be pushed aside. It’s no contradiction at all to hope for the best for our troops but remain dead set against the rules of world order being rewritten overnight by the jungle’s biggest lion.
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I like your comment about stepping on toes, and your earlier remark about “reaping the fruits…”. That’s exactly something our esteemed leader is going to have to consider, no matter WHAT the outcome of this war. It still makes the news once in a while, in between coverage of reporters scrambling for their gas masks and chemical protection gear, of UN comments on Bush’s actions, and they’re not always complimentary. I just really hope he hasn’t screwed the US over down the road, by doing this without UN sanction.