Opinion

Hail to the liberating heroes

Matthew Caster
Opinion Columnist

I feel vindicated. Why? Because I have seen live on national television the liberation of 25 million enslaved people. I have witnessed the discovery of documents and evidence that link France, Germany and Russia to violations of the sanctions imposed on Iraq by the all-powerful United Nations they claim to cherish. I have noted the discovery of suspicious chemicals, a nuclear research lab and illegal missiles. Yes, my friends, I feel vindicated.

So for all you peaceniks and any others here and abroad who think this war was only about oil and conquest, I have one thing to say: Shut up. Your true colors have shown through. I honestly have trouble believing that the leftists who oppose this war are truly that opposed to freedom, since theyire the ones who keep saying itis their First Amendment right to protest the war.

So all this junk the leftists spewed out must be nothing more than an extension of the 2000 presidential election. These people hate Bush and anything that makes Bush look popular. Thatis why Hollywood has shut up all of a sudden. Bushis 71 percent approval rating may be costing them dollars at the box office.

Nothing was more delightful than hearing the reactions of people in predominantly Muslim countries. People were shocked that the Iraqi Information Minister, quaintly named "Baghdad Bob," was lying about the proximity of coalition forces to Baghdad. One Egyptian stated he could never trust al-Jazeera again.

In a coffee shop in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, customers were angry with Saddam Hussein for not smashing the Americans. They were mad at the Iraqi people for not rising up and overwhelming the coalition forces. This just proves that the entire Arab world has been brainwashed by cruel dictators into hating our great country to which they owe their way of life (who else would buy seven million barrels of crude oil a day from them?). 

As the television screens showed Iraqi people celebrating their liberation, most of the Muslim world watched, stupefied, not understanding why such basic qualities as liberty and freedom would make people so joyous.

Although I fully accept that the war is not totally over yet and that a long and tortuous road lies ahead of us, I also recognize that coalition forces have spilled their blood so the people of Iraq can have a future. Itis not a future of American and British occupation, but rather a future where the people as a whole dictate the course of the nation, where the people as a whole reap the benefits of Iraqis plentiful natural resources.

So this, in my final issue-oriented column of the semester, is a big "nanny-nanny-boo-boo" to all you anti-war people out here. You were wrong about the weapons, you were wrong about the Iraqis dancing in the street and you were wrong about George W. Bush and the role our nation must play in the 21^st century: extending the opportunities for freedom, justice and liberty that each of us takes for granted from time to time. God bless America, President Bush and our brave troops who sacrifice so much for us.

Caster, a senior petroleum engineering major, can be reached at patrioticcatmaster@yahoo.com.