"Abandoned All Restraint"

From the Telegraph:

America abandoned restraint in Iraq yesterday and launched an all-out attempt to impose its will on the country, bombing a mosque compound and promising to destroy the militia of the rebel Shia leader, Moqtada al-Sadr.

Firstly, I think that the people who wrote this are a little confused on the subject of American restraint. What would I think are signs that America has truly abandoned restraint? Funny you should ask.

1. You know those weapons of mass destruction that all the mini-tyrants of the world seem to cover so much? Well, ours work and their delivery systems are something more impressive than some twisted terrorist with a death wish...
   
2. Special delivery MOAB in downtown Fallujah.
   
3. New Iraqi constitution has "Official English" provisions.
   
4. Bruce "Don't Call Me Ash" Campbell is dropped into Fallujah with nothing but a mechanical hand, shotgun shell reloading equipment, and a few spare boomsticks.
   

If anyone abandoned restraint, it was those Iraqis who mutilated the bodies of men who were trying to help them build a future for their nation. No, we haven't abandoned restraint, nor will we. Americans (and the rest of the coalition) are manned by basically decent human beings who really want Iraq to grow up and behave itself.

From September 12, 2001, though, I think our leaders have shown amazing restraint--restraint that continues to this day.

On the other hand, are we trying to force our will on Iraq? We didn't topple a dictatorship because we wanted Iraq to continue business as usual. Yes, we do want to force our will on them to an extent.

We want them to liberalize and learn to respect individual freedom. We don't want them to choose a leader who will destabilize the region. We want Iraq to rejoin the civilized world as a productive, not destructive, member of the community. How that all ends up looking, in relation to their form of government and their constitution, is largely up to the Iraqis themselves.

I can't really work up a lot of guilt on that subject.

Read the story.

Posted by zombyboy at April 7, 2004 10:37 PM | TrackBack