Fight For Your Right

So I have a friend from Canada coming into town this weekend, and he asked me if I wanted to attend the peace march. After a bit of hemming and hawing, I decided to go with him, so if anyone reading this is also interested and wants to come along, drop me a line/give me a call and we can figure out the details as the date approaches.

Honestly, I am personally a bit torn regarding the question of getting the troops out now. Yes, it is terrible that they are there, yes they are dying and should not have to be there in the first place, but the reality is that they are, and I don't know that an immediate pullout is the right answer. What happens to Iraq if the US leaves now? Can anyone guarantee that things will get better there? As it is, sectarian violence is already out of control; without even a semblance of American military strength, does anyone think that the killings will do anything but increase? It was the neocons who made the mistake of thinking America could be in and out of Iraq, that they could topple Saddam, set up a puppet government and then get back out, that Iraqis would all band together and embrace democracy and all the institutions that it took America over a hundred years to evolve and which have slowly been eroding since. And now America has to pay the price for letting those people come to power.

The chance to avoid getting involved passed years ago, when Dubya was first elected (and let's not start the conspiracy theory-ish argument about miscounted votes and voter registration list manipulation, Iraq is a difficult enough issue as it is) and they started the march to war with Iraq (and no, I am not suggesting that they had the intention of invading Iraq all along, though Bob Woodward's book Plan of Attack does mention that they began discussing Iraq long before 9/11; it is explained as a routine re-evaluation of plans that the government might have had to implement quickly dealing with situations ranging from a downed pilot to full-out invasion). You get the government you vote for, and the majority of voting Americans apparently wanted this one. That's why I have difficulty getting up in arms about legislations passing anti-abortion laws. Yes, of course I think a woman has the right to choose, and I will vote accordingly. But lots of other people are voting for the state or federal congressmen and women (well - I don't know if a woman has ever introduced anti-abortion legislation, I certainly hope one never has), so clearly they reflect the views of some part of the population. You cast your votes and if you're in the minority you can only hope for constitutional protection - that's the way a democracy works. I don't think abortion ranks in the same area as slavery, in which there is a side that is clearly more "right"; I think that, aside from the obvious ethical question, there are also mental and physical costs of abortion that are glossed over.

So, coming back to Iraq and the march; if I don't necessarily agree with bringing the troops home now, why am I going? Mostly, I suppose, to see what the people there have to say. Who knows, maybe someone will make a stunning argument that will win me over. It's actually somewhat interesting to see that "liberals" and "conservatives" have switched sides in this debate; wasn't the historical position of conservatives relative isolationism and a domestic focus while liberals were more in favor of increasing our connections with and aid given to the international community? Anyways, I doubt anyone will make such an argument because, like I said, no-one can possibly know what pulling out immediately would result in, and even if they did, pro-withdrawal activists never ask that question anyways - they are too focused on the American cost, perhaps rightly so but perhaps not. I know what I think, but it's just an idea, and I've changed my mind before.