“Anti-protesters”

by Steven A. Stegeman of Ocean Township

“No War for Imperialism”; “No Blood for Oil”; “Bush is Hitler”. That is what you will hear and see at your average “anti-war” protest. Of course, most make it a point to point out that while they are protesting the war, they support the soldiers. They are protesting “for peace”. But, are they doing so “peacefully”? What justifies “their” violent actions? Do the protesters even know what they mean by “No Blood for Oil”? Do they realize that is a considerable oversimplification? Do they really think we will be able to make Iraq into a U.S. territory like Guam? Because that is the only way we will ensure cheap oil. They carry signs erroneously comparing Bush and Hitler, but when asked about their thoughts on the atrocities Hussein has committed, they are speechless, avoiding the issue and changing the topic. Just the other night on ABC’s World News Tonight, it was reported that in general the protesters in New York were not protesting the war on specific grounds, but instead because they do not understand why we are at war. All I can say to that is do your homework first before taking to the streets then. It is this, the naïve, inconsistent, over-generalized and under-educated opinions of your average protester that has me shaking my head.

At this point, I must digress and let you in on my perspective. I lived in the other area of the world receiving similar attention these days, South Korea, for just under seven years. I was not in the military living on a military base; I was not involved in big business and getting red-carpet treatment; I was an English instructor living among the people in average Korean neighborhoods. I speak Korean and am married to a Korean. “Anti-American” protests are commonplace in Korea, and many of our “anti-war” protesters cite international protests as support for their positions, sometimes even going as far as predicating their stances on such demonstrations. The “why are so many people around the world against us” argument carries a lot of weight among our anti-war protesters. This just illustrates their naivety and the snowball effect of this mode of expression. Understand, protests there, like here, are not really indicative in intensity or even number of the sentiment of the country as a whole. Moreover, there, like here, protests are not typically guided by reason, but, unlike here, to a degree that cannot be fathomed by your average American… obvious publicly-sponsored disinformation. Case in point, an anchorwoman for KBS, the Korean Broadcasting System, after a report on a recent anti-American demonstration, offered up an apology, saying she was ashamed by the excessive violence and negativity displayed. She was summarily fired and forced to make a public statement the next day indicating what she meant was that she was “ashamed that she was not there participating”. And, that is the free side of the 38^th parallel. Point being, “anti-American” protests abroad are not solid grounds for domestic protests and are just indicative of that aforementioned naivety.

Back to the greater point at hand, South Korea boasts one of the strongest economies of Asia; they live in relative luxury and freedom. Why? Bottom line, because of the outcome of the forgotten war, the Korean War, and their alliance with us thereafter, period. In World War II we were the key piece in freeing Europe from Hitler’s Germany; we successfully rid Kuwait of Hussein a decade ago, and then there is all we contributed militarily to the emancipation of the people of Bosnia; liberation, the most evident result of each.

Where am I going with this? What are the “real”, big, evident possible outcomes of the war in Iraq, moreover, in their logical order? That is all we can “really” discuss, unless you have some kind of insider knowledge that I, and obviously the protesters, sure do not have. So, let’s just talk it through, layman-to-layman. Some evident, tangible and significant possible outcomes are: 1) The liberation of the Iraqi people (from the tyranny of Saddam Hussein); 2) The establishment of a democratic government in the region and the beginnings of stabilization, AND THEN come the residual effects and “matters of fact”, 3) A friendly, as opposed to hostile and unstable, regime, which would be easier to “deal” with, in control of Iraqi oil, ultimately hopefully resulting in reasonable pricing; 4) Improved human and women’s rights in the country, and 5) The elimination, among world leaders, of an Al-Qaida empathizer and provider of weapons of mass destruction and death to terrorist groups. No, logically, and ironically, neither oil nor Al-Qaida is the #1 reason for this war. That is how the “dominoes” are set up. If numbers “3, 4 and/or 5” happen, “1 and 2” had to have. If you try to reverse the logic, you will find that it is just not cogent, in the strictest sense of the word.

In kind, I would like protesters to reflect on their actions. There are Iraqi citizens greeting American soldiers and gleefully ripping down pictures of their heretofore megalomaniacal leader Saddam Hussein; meanwhile, a world away, in every sense of the phrase, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, there have been “anti-war” protests right smack dab in front of Fort Monmouth. I thought the protesters supported the troops, just not the war. Hmmmm… Get some perspective! Think it through!