As a community newspaper, we generally stay with topics close to home. At the same time, however, we are all a part of the United States of America, and what happens to our great nation is of sharp concern to all of us and impacts all of us.
In recent months, the Bush administration has been ratcheting up its verbal attacks on the nation of Iran. In this campaign of threats and charges, there are strong parallels to the way the war with Iraq was sold to the American people. This situation has not been adequately covered by the national news networks -- which seem to be more focused on the latest legal troubles of various celebrities (and similar garbage) than the possibility of a new war.
There is growing speculation in some quarters that President Bush will soon order a military attack on Iran. We hope and pray that this speculation represents simply the unfounded thoughts of conspiracy theorists. We hope there is nothing behind these concerns.
But as the conflict with Iraq drags on year after year, and the many official mischaracterizations about the reasons for that war are exposed, it is increasingly difficult to believe there is much in the way of enlightened leadership guiding the ship of state in Washington, D.C.
With our military forces already overextended in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is unlikely that a ground assault on a nation as large and as relatively strong as Iran could work. That hints at a bombing campaign. Might nuclear weapons be used?
There is nothing more serious than war. If an unprovoked war is under consideration, there should be a full and open debate, not grave decisions made in secret. As American citizens, we expect, and must demand, that our views are considered.
Iran is ruled by a dangerous regime, but Iran has not attacked our nation. There has been tough talk and sharp disagreement, but there has been no direct threat. Further, negotiations have recently defused tensions with rogue nations such as Libya and North Korea, and there is no reason the same course cannot be pursued with Iran. All that seems to be lacking is the interest in doing so.
President Bush has no legal authority, and no moral justification, for an attack on Iran. Even more important, there is no clear military necessity for an attack. But, tragically, that does not mean it won't happen.
Bob Herbert, a columnist for The New York Times, wrote a fascinating column about our national leadership several years ago. Today, this excerpt from that article is even more appropriate -- and frightening: "We all may be passengers in a vehicle that has made a radically wrong turn and is barreling along a dark road, with its headlights off and with someone behind the wheel who may not know how to drive."
Now is the time for citizens to make their views known to our representatives in Congress -- U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings, U.S. Rep. Brian Baird, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, and U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell -- before we reach a point where there is no turning back.
Commented
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.