I opened the Diamondback today to find many pieces on the Gulf war (Pages of Opinion, January 22); but I found many more questions in my mind. George Bush tells us that our troops are there to stand up for human rights. I know I'll never get an answer, but if we go to war for human rights, why did the U.S. government not invade South Africa? We were quite willing to give sanctions time to work there. Why was support given to South American dictators guilty of terrible human rights violations? Why are we allied with Saudi Arabia, where women have no rights, and religious freedom is non-existent? And why did the U.S. government continue to deal with Hussein when he used poison gas against his own people? The "world's policeman" seems to take a very selective view of which crooks to let go, and which crooks heads to bash in.
Some say we're there to liberate Kuwait. After this war, will there be any Kuwait left? Will we have to leave a force in Iraq to keep Kuwait "free"? Was Kuwait, a nation ruled by a monarchy, ever free to start with? David Grinberg advocates the use of nuclear weapons, if necessary, to win the war. Shall we leave Kuwait a nuclear wasteland? What are we going to do when we win this war?
And then there's the fear that the real reason for war might be oil. George Bush mentions it; it came up again and again in the debates in Congress. Have we started a war in which unknown numbers of American, Israeli, and Iraqi citizens will be killed for oil? If we spent as much money and manpower on alternative fuel research as we are spending on the war, would we need Mid-East oil? If it's all right to go to war for oil, and a "liberated" Kuwait decides not to sell us oil, will we invade Kuwait?
I was part of the anti-war demonstration in Lafayette Park on January 15th. Joe Rubin seems to think that makes me anti-American ("Gulf War sparks downtown rallies", January 22). Isn't it my responsibility as an American citizen to ask these questions, and to let the government know my opinions? Isn't that what democracy is about? This isn't about being against the troops. My fellow demonstrators included the relatives and friends of troops in the Gulf. Are they unpatriotic to question what the government is doing with their friends, children, brothers and sisters? Several Vietnam veterans joined in the protest; are they anti-American, or are they trying to prevent others from having to learn the hard lessons they did?
Some say it's impractical to say that the war shouldn't have begun. It's already here, and we have to deal with it. But if war was wrong a week ago, isn't it still wrong now? If it is wrong, what shall we do about it? Many people seem to think that we must stand behind George Bush, right or wrong. Isn't that the very antithesis of democracy? Isn't it more important to do what's right than to support the president? These are the questions that keep me awake at night.
Tom Swiss
senior
computer science
345-7842
January 22, 1991