"But it's a long way that I have come
Across the sand to find this peace among your people in the sun
Where the families work the land as they have always done
Oh it's so far the other way my country's gone"
- Jackson Browne, Our Lady of the Well

I guess I should have seen it coming when I heard Bush's post 9/11 statement to the rest of the world that you are either with us or against us, on the side of good or the side of evil.... but last September, when I heard on a London hostel dining room TV, his plans to invade Iraq and his justification, I was shocked. Using the excuse that Saddam was trying to acquire weapons of mass destructions is absurd at this point. We knew about Saddam's efforts even before the first Gulf War. By the third day of the ground war, our ground forces were meeting very little resistance and we could easily have gone all the way to Bagdad with little casualties and gotten rid of Saddam or, at the very least, destroyed his only source of power, his Republican Guard units.... but we didn't, the war was called off (to the consternation of many ground field commanders).

Why?

A bigger picture: After the fall of the Berlin wall and the collapse of the "Evil Empire" when US cold war level defense spending was no longer justifiable, US arms manufacturers attempted to convert to non-lethal products but were having a hard time of it. Seems the profit margins weren't nearly as good. And then we had the first Gulf War with round-the-clock all-channel free coverage for weeks, pilots being interviewed after sorties like quarterbacks after the game, computer generated info-inserts of the weaponry.

After the war the US share of world arms sales went from 36% to 68%.

Why didn't we finish the first gulf war?

Maybe we need another commercial break.

Maybe this sounds a bit farfetched? Maybe you really do believe that we have a right to invade another country because it might pose a threat to us in the future. Maybe you believe as Bush said; we are the most militarily powerful country in the world and have a right and mandate to do what ever it takes to keep it that way. I would suggest you ask yourself this question.... similar to the one posed by politicians at every election, the one about whether you are better off now than you were four years ago.....

To use Bush's limited dichotomous world view approach - there are two worlds, two possibilities, two scenarios:
• One world, in which the US limited its post 9/11 agenda to tracking down Al Queda and strengthening its internal security.
• The other world, where the US uses 9/11 and real or perceived threats in the future as excuses to invade Iraq, Iran or North Korea (all on Bush's list and none of which supported Al Queda - in fact Saddam felt threatened by Islamic political movements).

In which of these worlds do you think:
• Anti-US terrorists would have an easier time to recruit new members?
• More acts of terrorism, large and small, would be conducted on American soil and against American interests abroad?
• We will have to maintain a strong military and defense industry to counter these acts?

War without end amen.

The view I see from abroad is that, other than the leaders of the UK and Australia (who will likely loose their jobs because of it), many people do not support the road we are on and many will hate US for it.

No one likes us
I don't know why.
We may not be perfect
But heaven knows we try.
But all around
even our old friends put us down.
Let's drop the big one and see what happens.
We give them money
But are they grateful?
No they're spiteful
And they're hateful.
They don't respect us
so let's surprise them;
We'll drop the big one
and pulverize them.
Asia's too crowded
And Europe's too old.
Africa's far too hot,
And Canada's too cold.
And South America stole our name.
Let's drop the big one; there'll be no one left to blame us.

Bridge:
We'll save Australia;
Don't wanna hurt no kangaroo.
We'll build an all-American amusement park there;
They've got surfing, too.
Well, boom goes London,
And boom Pari'.
More room for you
And more room for me.
And every city the whole world round
Will just be another American town.
Oh, how peaceful it'll be;
We'll set everybody free;
You'll have a Japanese kimono, baby,
There'll be Italian shoes for me.
They all hate us anyhow,
So let's drop the big one now.
Let's drop the big one now.

- Randy Newman, Political Science

Who pulls the strings
Of the puppet man
Who rules as king
In videoland
Who writes the scripts
Furnishes the facts
Has the keys to the crypt
Is quick to act

Thoughts won't stop bullets
Whispers won't heal wounds
Silence is violence
Personal approval

Who paints the pictures
Of the essence of evil
Who quotes the scriptures
Has rights to the sequel
Who plans events
And supplies the arms
Stifles dissent
And sounds the alarm
Who paints the pictures
Of a world aflame
Who are not numbers
Who is to blame
Who closes the door
Cleans up the mess
Who keeps the score
Who can guess

Who hears the call
And asks no question
Who feels so small
At the slightest suggestion
Who waits to decide
Deciding to wait
Who will have time
When it's too late

Who pulls the strings
Of the puppet man
Who rules as king
In videoland
Who puts it together
Connects the dots
Forcasts the weather
Ready or not

Who makes a difference
Changes a life
Offers resistance
Gets off its knees
Who can say no
And make it stop
Or turn and go
And put it off

- Mark W, Who