Perhaps because, very simply, war is wrong, it is difficult or impossible to do right. We are seeing that now in Iraq, as the violence and waste grow more and more grotesque, and goals of peace and order seem less and less attainable.
We are also seeing that the operations of war themselves are unmanageable. This week it was revealed that a large percentage of weapons brought to Iraq by the U.S. are inexplicably missing. Today the New York Times reported that deaths among U.S. soldiers are going unexplained and uninvestigated by military authorities, and protocols are shattered as authorities lie to families of victims about what they do and don't know about their deaths.
This is why declaration of war is such a serious undertaking. There is no real winning involved in war, any time, except for profiteers who bring death and evade responsibility in the midst of war's chaos.
This war, brought on by lies, is not simply a mistake, but a crime. As a nation of laws, we need to bring an end to the crime, and punish the criminals.
Many of our leaders - in fact, most of them - are complicit, in having voted for this war. Full justice might never be attained, but the path of justice is open, in votes against these leaders. Here in New York, Senator Clinton was among them.
We need a political party in this country that will stand for peace, even when inexpedient. The time to start building it, rhetorically, was yesterday. The time for greater, uncompromising effort is this election day, and beyond.
Stephen Burke
for Ithaca Blog
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