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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (June 29, 2004)
Newsroom: (541) 346-5511 Suite 300, Erb Memorial Union P.O. Box 3159, Eugene, OR 97403 E-mail: editor@dailyemerald.com Online: www.dailyemerald.com Tuesday, June 29, 2004 Oregon Daily Emerald COMMENTARY Editor in Chief: Jared Paben Managing Editor: Travis Willse Online & Photo Editor: Erik R. Bishoff EDITORIAL Stakes are raised as conservatives back Nader In a paradoxical display of partisan weirdness, activist and former Green Party candidate Ralph Nader's bid to sit on the 2004 Oregon presidential ballot has found an unlikely ally: several state conservative groups. The organizations — includ ing the Oregon Family Council and Citizens for a Sound Econ omy — phoned members, asking them to attend the Nader's )une 26 convention to help the perennial third-party candidate find a space on the ballot. I he motive for this seemingly counterintuitive gambit? Some Republican planners believe (rightly, if 2000 presiden tial election figures are any indication) that having Nader on the ballot would draw more votes from would-be John Kerry voters than President Bush supporters. And in a year when many states — Oregon included — might see narrow margins of victory in November's presidential election, a rogue factor like Nader might swing states from the blue column to the red. (In 2000, former Vice President Al Gore won Oregon's seven electoral votes by a margin of 6,765 votes — a pittance com pared to the 77,357 voters that turned out for Nader.) The OFC isn't shy about its efforts to draft conservatives to secure Nader a place on the ballot. "We'd like to take a few votes away from John Kerry if it would be possible," OFC'sTim Nashifsaid. Democrats are understandably displeased: Kerry spokeswoman Laura Capps blasted the efforts in an interview with The Oregon ian, saying that it is a "shame the Bush camp has to resort to such tactics to lure their base to support a third-party candidate." But what shouldn't be lost in all this is that voters are ulti mately responsible for their own fate: Simply because another check box or tab is available on a ballot, voters aren't excused from the responsibility of decision. No matter who your political inclination, educate yourself about the issues and vote — election day is less than five months away. EDITORIAL POLICY This editorial represents the opinion of the Emerald editorial board. Responses can be sent to letters @dailyemerald.com. Letters to the editor and guest commentaries are encouraged. Letters are limited to 250 words and guest commentaries to 550 words. Authors are limited to one submission per calendar month. Submission must include phone number and address for verification. The Emerald reserves the right to edit for space, grammar and style. ONLINE POLL THIS WEEK'S POLL RESULTS Should media organizations show the graphic photos of the beheaded corpse of U.S. hostage Paul Johnson? (41 votes) 1. Yes - The images make the violence more real and understandable 36.6 percent 2. No - It brings publicity to the murderers 31.7 percent 3 No - The images are distasteful 17.1 percent 4. Yes - It's the media's job to inform the public, regardless of how graphic 14.6 percent NEXT WEEK’S QUESTION Is it fair that conservative special interest groups are trying to help Nader get on the Oregon ballot? Visit www.dailyemerald.com to vote. • Yes - They want Bush, their candidate, to win, and they are doing everything they can to ensure it. • Yes - They are not breaking any laws, so who cares7 • No - It is unethical for them to try to hijack Nader’s campaign. » No - It undermines the spirit of democracy. Aaron Sullivan Illustrator When war is necessary In March 2003, only days before the United States began lobbing missiles into Baghdad in an attempt to kill Saddam Hussein and his top officials, I wrote an opinion piece in support of then-immi nent Gulf War II. Now, after the official handover of power in Iraq, I want to bring up a point that seems to have been ignored in the rush to point out President Bush's many shortcomings. The war was a just war. I'll admit we nev er found the smoking gun, the nuclear weapons or the large cache of biological or chemical weapons that would have proven Bush's prewar rhetoric correct. And critics are quick to point out that Bush's adminis tration either lied to Americans or igno rantly guided the course of our national policy with the hand of blind presump tion. Those critics are right. But, second only to the Bush administra tion's failures is the equally disgusting way in which many of these anti-war activists have willfully swept Saddam's past atroci ties under the carpet, choosing to ignore the fact that he was as cruel as Stalin or Hitler, with fewer resources at his disposal. In March 1988, thousands of men, woman and children died violent, painful deaths af ter Saddam deployed chemical weapons in the largely Kurdish city of Halabja. Media from around the world record ed this infamous massacre, putting Sad dam's brutality in the spotlight. But, this incident was, in reality, only one of many. Through his Anfal campaigns in the 1980s, Saddam murdered an estimated 100,000 of his own citizens. Saddam also flagrantly violated interna tional law when it came to deploying those JARED PABEN HELP WANTED elusive weapons of mass destruction, which weren't so elusive to tens of thousands of Ira nians. Throughout Saddam's eight-year war with Iran, which he started by invading his neighbor, he used chemical weapons such as sarin and mustard gas on waves of Iranian troops. He also possessed VX, a nerve agent so advanced that a few drops on the skin can kill, and botulinum, a poison so dangerous a billionth of a gram can be deadly. As early as 1983, intelligence reports showed he was us ing chemical weapons every day. As late as 1992, he attempted to drop biological weapons on Israel, but his fighter jets were shot down over the Persian Gulf en route. Despicably, America sold him many of these chemical and biological weapons and — in violation of international law — helped him use them against the Ira nians. But, the fact remains that he still willfully used them. Saddam was unarguably a threat to world security. He started two wars in a re gion that houses some of the world's largest oil reserves, attempted to drop bio logical weapons on Israel and planned to assassinate President George H.W. Bush during a visit to Kuwait in April 1993. In addition to this, Iraq has harbored and aid ed Palestinian terrorists, offering monetary rewards to the families of suicide bombers. The United Nations Special Commis sion (UNSCOM) inspections didn't work, either. Iraqis frequently blocked UN in spectors from suspicious sites, including a biological weapons site in 1997, in viola tions of UN resolutions. In July 1998, the Iraqis also seized inspectors' documents that showed Iraq had lied about its weapons capabilities. The Iraqis were so uncooperative, UNSCOM was even forced to leave the country on multiple occasions. The Iraqis frequently shot at our jets fly ing in the no-fly zones and nearly downed a U.S. spy plane in July 2001. They succeeded in shooting down two drone planes in Au gust and September 2001. Saddam even of fered a S15,000 bounty to any military unit that successfully shoots down a U.S. plane. When it came to punishing Saddam for these crimes, the United Nations wavered, never authorizing multilateral military ac tion. Our "allies" always preferred to strike bargains and play games with a madman whose only concept of leadership is by the use of raw, brutal power, an unreasonable man who knows no compromise. Time after time the United States and United Kingdom were the only countries with the resolve to do what was necessary in Iraq. Despite our terrible two-faced for eign policy, we've taken steps to make the world a safer place, and largely without thanks or anything more than token assis tance from the rest of the world. Now, we need to take the next step and execute Saddam for his crimes. Just like the war, his execution would be a just one. editor@dailye7nerald.com LETTER TO THE EDITOR Abuse shows ‘moral chaos' of war The revelations of prisoner abuse com ing out of Iraq have sent waves of outraged revulsion throughout the world. 1 grieve on many levels; for the brutality and cru elty shown these people; for the profound betrayals of trust; for those in our forces now unjustly linked to such evil; that the honor of our nation has been so stained. 1 cannot adequately describe my pride in the courage, determination and honor shown by our military. It is equally difficult to forget the images of humiliation, degra dation and perversion that now characterize all Americans in the minds of many. Lois Bujold, an author whose perspective I re spect, sees clearly here. "Any community's arm of force — military, police, security — needs people in it who can do the necessary evil, and yet not be made evil by it. To do only the necessary, and no more. To constantly question the assumptions, to stop the slide into atrocity." I also grieve for those who have aban doned decency and humanity to become such ugly representatives of us. The moral chaos that accompanies a war is inevitable. Indeed, much depends on soldiers pos sessing a sense of what is unshakably true and right to guide choices and actions. In our "anything goes" society, such guides are, sadly, rare. What is not rare are the cheapening and destructive forces that our moral climate produces. May God give grace to all concerned, that those who have suffered so greatly may find the courage of heart to abandon hatred, to forgive — and so find a measure of healing. William Moore works in computer services technician for the School of Music.
