Happiness Is A Purple Finger
12/14/2005
Paul Munnis
We are happy for the Iraqi people that they are able to vote and hold an election for a new government. They are turning out in great numbers and they seem pleased at an opportunity to select people of their own choosing to represent them and God only knows they have paid a huge price for this moment. So have we.
We are happy for Bush too - he took a lot of heat getting to this point. There are no guarantees that this will all play out well, Bush says we can expect many more years of a presence in Iraq and this will not automatically bring home the troops and that has many Americans groaning at the price yet to be paid in terms of blood and money. But in what has been a very bloody war, this is a moment of mutual joy for all parties except perhaps for the insurgents.
Some have been painting this as a binary Democrat vs Republican issue but it’s not so. Some Republicans and some Democrats support the war and some of each Party oppose it.
Many Democrats want to force Iraq to step up to the plate and take responsibility for their own future thus permitting an opportunity to bring home our troops. But Party labels are not the criteria for supporting or opposing this war.
Many Republicans who are fiscal conservatives are looking at the mounting deficit to pay for this war and are opposing the war on financial grounds.
Some oppose us being there in the first place on the basis of a naked aggression with lies justifying a pre-conceived invasion plan, plus a lack of WMD, and the notion of not meeting the moral criteria for a just war.
Others say that maybe that’s so, but we have to make the best of it and win the war and that we are stuck in Iraq for better or for worse.
A few people actually believe Bush is as pure as new fallen snow on this matter and should be trusted implicitly.
No matter, this is a moment when we all can take a deep breath and rejoice.
As the season of peace comes upon us this is a good time to pray for peace and to work to achieve it.