Quite frankly I don't really care what happens in the war. Either Saddam goes, which is good. Or the war doesn't happen, which is also good. Since it's too late for the latter, make lemonade eh?
What the war really comes down to for me is the fact that the US is pretty much declaring it has the right to do whatever the fuck it wants. Not that they haven't been bullying around the rest of the world since the end of the cold war, now it's just official. Quite frankly, since the start of the war, I've reformulated my position a fair bit and am now of the opinion that George Bush is an extremely clever mother fucker. The invasion of Iraq doesn't bother me in particular, it's the motivation behind it that does. Though Bush trumpets that it's his a part of his 'war on terrorism' we all know it's not true and his ulterior motives are anyones guess. I don't think anyone can have a truly informed opinion without understanding those intentions, otherwise it's just shadow boxing. Unfortunately there is no mind reading in world politics and that's why everything has gotten so ugly recently. There's a whole lot more going on here then your average Joe assumes. It's not just removing a dictator, it's redefining the balance of world political power. But that's only one biased perspective. Personally I think Saddam had got to go, but that Bush has a whole lot of explaining to do before he can flaunt world law and the UN and do as he pleases. His case for invasion is shaky at best and would never hold in a court of law.
And that's part of what it really boils down to. The US frequently ignores international law to advance it's own ends (all the while playing the victim might I add). The number of times the US has lost cases before World Trade Organization is staggering and the US's vetoing of the Kyoto accord and the International Crimes Court is a utter slap in the face. The US has consistenly shown that it has no interest in a level playing field with other nations. The US insists that among nations of the world, that's it's interests are foremost and that their interests supercede those of the rest of the world. Some may call this merely asserting one's own power. But the United States heralds the ideaology that 'All men are born equal' and if you consider things on a larger scale and entire nations to be men, the scales are tipped in the US's favor. Perhaps it's like George Orwell's 'Animal Farm' where some animals are just 'more equal then others' and thus such balancing is justified. Look what happened to that farm and tell me things do not look frighteningly similar.
The opposition to the war on Iraq is not an opposition to the war itself, but an opposition to the overwhelming power of the United States. Within the confines of the United Nations, the world attempted to create a fair playing field where WORLD interests would be prioritized and dealt with accordingly. In rejecting the UN, the US has trivialized the playing field and ridiculed those still trying to play the game. The United Nations was created in the hopes that the world could cooperate harmoniously together as one united nation. The idea was that international disputes could be settled peacefully by the exchange of ideas in an open forum until a fitting solution could be found (thesis/antithesis-->synthesis). The United Nations was to serve as a world mediator. Obviously the US doesn't care much for that idea. By unilaterally declaring war on Iraq, the US has announced that they believe their own wisdom to be greater then that of the combined intellect of the world. And THAT is arrogance.
