Opinion

Liberate the Iraqis and leave

Brandon Moeller
Opinion Columnist

With the help of Iraqi citizens, U.S. Marines brought Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein to his knees live on American television Wednesday afternoon. 

Actually, it was only a bronze statue of Saddam that once stood tall and proud in the center of Baghdad. The real Saddam hasnit been seen for days and may not even be alive.

The war isnit over, but almost a dozen journalists who were covering the story are finished with it. Theyire dead. Most are foreign journalists, but a handful of American media workers have been killed. Other journalists are presumed missing, captured or dead. Most U.S. journalists who were killed were embedded with the military.

It is a painful lesson to journalists everywhere, but when they wear camouflage fatigues and ride in a vehicle equipped with weapons, morphing from a journalist into a combatant is inevitable.

Nonetheless, their pursuit of truth and justice through the portrayal of the scene of the battlefield will surely be missed.

Meanwhile, an estimated 996 to 1,174 Iraqi civilians have been killed in the last three weeks, according to the Web site <I>www.iraqbodycount.com<P>. My heart goes out to the families of anyone and everyone who has suffered the loss of a loved one because of this illegal and unprecedented conflict.

Note that I did not say the war is immoral. Although any war is immoral at its root, I donit believe all are unnecessary. Most would point to World War II as a "just" war, although I must note that Americais participation in the "just" war to end all wars lagged behind many other countries that more readily prioritized thwarting Adolf Hitleris Nazi regime.

The Fox News Channel broadcasts of the assumed control of Baghdad by the Anglo-Saxon "coalition" have made me reconsider whether or not this war is immoral.

If the straight-from-the-mouth mouthpieces such as Ari Fleischer, Donald Rumsfeld and anyone who works for Fox News could be trusted, then perhaps this whole conflict <I>has<P> been about liberating the Iraqi people.

If itis about liberation, then the war is not over yet. We must ensure the Iraqi people are able to form their own government and build the infrastructure that will enable them to achieve autonomy. That means we must ensure Saddam and his cronies are completely removed from the picture so that freedom may pour from the streets of Baghdad into the surrounding cities of Iraq.

That doesnit mean, however, that we should occupy Iraq for the next 20 years. We should help the citizens of Iraq rebuild their country and aid them in establishing a democracy. Then we should leave them to their own devices.

That is liberation. That is what I and many more of us want to see happen in this conflict. Of course, I never wanted this conflict to happen. Wishful thinking is nice, but now, weeks into it, this war is a reality that must be dealt with properly.

People are not free if they are ruled by an iron fist. The iron fist of Saddam was intensified by the U.S.-imposed sanctions on Iraq following Gulf War I. For people to be free, they must be able to live without fear for their safety.

If this conflict somehow results in the freedom of the Iraqi people without continued U.S. intervention, America will become the safeguard of liberty so many people claim it always has been. Iim skeptical about all of this, as always -- I know the history of American intervention in other countries.

Empower the Iraqis and then bring the boys and girls home. Donit stop to collect oil riches. Donit stop to solidify American hegemony in the new government. Serve an advisory role, not that of an iron fist in a velvet glove, as it would appear on Fox News. Donit stop to enrich contracting companies in the United States that profit from the destruction of culture and civilians half a world away. 

Onward, upward to better things, like fixing this horrid economy and restoring the social services and liberties here at home.

Moeller, a senior communication major, can be reached at brandonmoeller@hotmail.com.