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E-mail: editor@dailyemerald.com
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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.