And in reaction, here's my latest feelings on the whole thing:
The US is the most powerful nation in the world. A unique position. With great power comes great responsibility. The US is not living up to it's responsibility. By riding roughshod over the UN - the only organisation that could hope to rival the US's power - it's showing nothing but contempt for its neighbours. While the US is guided by arrogance and self-interest, it won't make the barest difference who's in charge.
The UN moves slowly due to it's nature. It doesn't represent one nation, with one governing body making decisions and acting, it represents dozens of countries and has to make decisions and take actions based on the interests of its member countries. How many countries was Iraq a thread to? How do we view the situation now that we know the invasion was based on false information? Can we see the UN's hesitation in a new light? The fact is, there was no actual need to storm into Iraq like we did. It was a threat to no-one, it had no active links to Al Qaeda, it had no discernable WMD capacity, it had been systematically bombed and emasculated by the US ever since Desert Storm. Yes, Saddam's regime was intolerable. Yes, he needed to go. But to fabricate intelligence and connect it to the great good holy cause of the War on Terror is simply wrong.
So many times I've heard it said that the US has the right to do what it wants, to serve its own interests and look after its own concerns. That's wrong. The US has a duty of leadership, and the first duty of leadership is to look after those beneath you. The US is not doing that, it's acting in its own interest and serving its own ends with no regard to the rest of the world. While it's true that it's actions are having positive repercussions, that was not the aim when the coalition began its action. The aim was simply to crush Saddam. So Governments around the world lied to their populace, they amassed their forces and stood in line with the biggest bully in the playground.
I claim no political allegiance. I do not dislike the American people, I despise American politics. I reject any cries of anti-americanism - it means nothing to me because I never signed up to those ideals and don't agree with them in the same way that I don't agree with the ideals that are supposed to make me British. I feel no national pride - what is there to be proud about? I would not fight for my country but I would fight for my family, in my own right, on my own terms - and if that requires me to join the military, then so be it. But inside, I still would not be a patriot. My head of state has no right to determine my ideals, morals and beliefs. In my heart, I remain the same person, at peace with my hypocrisies and contradictions. Comfortable with the compromises I have to make in order to run my life. I follow no flag, I claim no allegiance. The freedom that gives me is tangible, it's not a lie.
Whoever wins next month, it'll make no difference to anything. Life will go on, battles will continue to be fought, the american people will carry on believing the great lie that they live in the land of the free despite all the evidence to the contrary. Nothing will change.
I'm with Monty Brewster. I'm voting for None of the Above.
