UNDERWAY!
March 21, 2003
It makes a subtle difference even though it has happened in a curiously "'“quiet" manner.
Most of us went to bed last night realizing that the war to bring freedom to Iraq has officially begun and that things will be different for all of us from this point onward.
Instead of the massed bombings of Baghdad which were anticipated, the actions of the United States proved to be a relatively small missile attacks on what has been called “ targets of opportunity.”
Intelligence reports indicated that the presence of Saddam Hussein and his leading officers was known and the early-start project was undertaken to try to remove him and his military leaders. I find people in disagreement this morning on that concept. I see it it as yet another try at “diplomacy” although the word itself is eliminated by the use of force. The intent of the plan, however, might well have been “if we can eliminate the head of this evil body we will not have to undertake the mass bombing which were planned.
There is no indication this morning if the plan was, in any way, “successful” or not. It is assumed it did not take Saddam Hussein out of the picture since he appeared on Iraqi TV shortly after the attack, reading a speech from a stenographer's notebook. The immediate assumption by many was a that the speaker was one of those who have, from time-to-time, subbed for Saddam in public appearances before, but I think not. A fake Saddam might pass in a speeding motorcade going through the streets ,but not to deliver a major speech. No doubt a voice print of some sort had been made and any such duplicity revealed. We cannot afford to jump to wishfully devised tangents in our thinking concerning our enemy
The war is on. There is no turning back. We are sitting here waiting to be told if the raid was in any way worth the trouble. We expect a follow up and complete information at any moment. We ought to be disappointed. We are “at war”. We have given up our “right to know” all details of what has transpired. We should not be told.
A great many American are going to find it difficult to understand, but this small incident is the essence of what we are going to have to learn to accept on a far larger scale as the war goes on. To be told bluntly that the the facts – at that moment - “are none of our business!” strikes some as being totally wrong, but it is so very true if we are to maintain any sense of civic safety here at home we are going to have to curb our curiosity and comments.
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With such an assurance, we can do a far better job of supporting our sons, our daughters and other loved ones in the war zone itself. For every little detail of any action to be ”made public" is a great threat to their safety and ours. I would hope that our media can control its manifested tendency to do what has been called rightly an “overkill” on the war story. The way they appear to be going at it this morning, just as the war has started on this first day of Spring, They are seemingly going to go “all out” endlessly on the war theme. With repetition and guesswork by people who really are not qualified, the war story will have been beaten to death for many interested TV viewers before morning comes around again.
We are at war. Codes of conduct are required of all. That code calls for us to continue our daily routines in fulfilling our part of the obligations we have assumed - like it or not - to see this mess through to the end. Maintaining proper discipline and decorum at on the home front is one of the great challenges of every one of us when we were enlisted in the war effort by our leaders.
Do your part. Uncle Sam needs you!
A.L.M. March 20, 2003 [c689wds]
