The Age reports that support for the war effort in Australia has skyrocketed since the start of the war. Before the outbreak of conflict, only 18% of Australians supported a war without UN approval. New polls show either a close split or a small majority supporting the war.
As the horror stories emerge from the victims of the Hussein regime begin to filter through the Western world, the anti-war movement will likely become even more marginalized. The Stalinesque brutality of the Hussein regime has never been fully explored, and when it does, the reasons for this action will become even more clear. The anti-war movement would like to sympathize with the Iraqi people while avoiding the very necessary action of removing the Hussein regime. When people start to see the destruction that Hussein has brought to Iraq, the thoughts of American imperialism will quickly be replaced by questions of why we waited so long to do anything to alleviate the massive suffering of Iraq’s people.
You always seem to report the poll-numbers-of-the-moment that parallel your positions, but always manage to miss the ones that show figures that don’t support your position. I guess that’s your choice, but with the population of fickle followers that define Western society (especially America) this day and age, I would think you’d be more inclined to take the always-changing numbers with a grain of salt. With every day that the war goes on, the novelty of “Baghdad under siege” will become increasingly less “way cool”.
Support among Americans would already be declining if war coverage had pre-empted Final Four coverage and Friends reruns on TV. Mercifully for Americans, the networks helped them out by providing them their sports and entertainment broadcasts. This way, they can change the channel to CNN during the commercials to catch the latest explosions and carnage in Baghdad and then turn it back to hoops when it gets boring. With this setup, Americans have apparently decided they’re willing to support the war a little longer. However, the oil prices better plunge and their stock portfolios had better start soaring as the war-mongers have been assuring us they would, otherwise we’re gonna start having second thoughts about how good of a deal this war is!
I can’t speak for Australians, but I’m sure much of the same mindset is in play there. Also, now that the war is actually occuring, it’s perceived to be the “patriotic” thing to do to declare one’s support for the war whether or not you actually agree with it. If the war-mongers there are anything like those here, war opponents can expect to be accused of “hating Australia” if they don’t submit to the pro-war position.
Also, there is this traditional upsurge in support for one’s leaders anytime something “big” is happening. I guess it is human psychology. We have seen it time and time again, and should therefore be careful to interprete it as more than it really is: a momentary sensation, that will change soon after the “big” thing does not appear that big anymore. Or when casualties go up… What *is* up with that anyway? British plane shot down by American patriot missiles? Helicopters flying into each other? An American soldier attacking his own fellow soldiers with hand granades? You know, guys, it looks like as of now, most of your casualties are self inflicted. If you are intend on killing each other, there is no need to go to a different country. But cynicism aside, may those killed by “friendly fire” (there really is nothing friendly about it) rest in peace, as well as those killed in combat, and as well as anyone killed in that shock(ing) and awe(ful) thing so heroically called war.
Janek,
The “intent on killing each other” as you call it is an attribution of what is known as the fog of war. It is unfortunate that you cannot respect those that are fighting and dying for all of our freedom. At this point, whether you support the war or not, if you are the true humanitarian, you will support the troops, not the cause, and pray for their safe return.
v/r Lt Nimmo
Stacy,
I appreciate your comment, and trust me, I do respect the lives of those fighting. It is a prospect to abhorrent to think about: many people’s Future has just simply ended. I hope for them that at least they had a Present before they died. As of today, however, I cannot make myself believe that they died defending our freedom. Again, I hope for them that they at least believed in that. The loss would be even more senseless had they not.
And yes, in my comment I was very cynical. I don’t know about the fog of war. I don’t know why helicopters fly into each other or why the very system that was to protect those aboard the downed air plane caused their death. Call me a stupid civilian, but I had thought that “glitches” like these are not supposed to be happening in real life. It is a property of Star Trek that the warp drive fails right when the Borg are attacking. But this is not some science fiction story. This is brutal reality and it proved pointlessly fatal to a couple of people whose loss is sure to destroy the lives of many more: their families, their friends… How can this happen amidst talk of surgical strikes and precision bombing?
As to your comment about being humanitarian… I do wish safe return for all involved, be they American, British, Iraqi, or some random journalist from, say, Burkina Fasu. That is exactly why I support the cause, as you put it.
I have no experience reading military abbreviations, but I assume that Lt at least stands for Lieutenant. Let me express my good wishes to you, no matter what your task is or will be.
Janek Albinsky