"If we fail to respond today, Saddam and all those who would follow in his footsteps will be emboldened tomorrow. Some day, some way, I guarantee you, he'll use the arsenal. We have to defend our future from these predators of the 21st century, They will be all the more lethal if we allow them to build arsenals of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and the missiles to deliver them. We simply cannot allow that to happen. There is no more clear example of this threat than Saddam Hussein."
So, last week I was trying to compose a coherent explanation of why I found myself so antagonized by the anti-war demonstrations. It wasn't the protests themselves, people are exercising their right to protest which is one of the things that is really good about this country, when we stop allowing people to disagree or protest this country will become a much worse place for all of us. It was something about the tone of the protests and some of what was implied by the people protesting.
I found some of it a bit disingenuous. While people came out to oppose the war and promote the banner of peace, it's interesting to note there were no huge throngs demonstrating during:
1993 - Operation Restore Hope. US troops in Somalia.
1993 - Operation Southern Watch. US sends 2 dozen cruise missiles into Iraq.
1994 - Operation Support, Uphold and Restore Democracy. Invasion of Haiti.
Oh, and the quote, President Bill Clinton on February 18, 1998
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