We’re deluged with email from MoveOn and other activist groups encouraging us to rally when the war starts. It’s hard to imagine a bigger waste of time. Any war protest right now is a waste of good human captial.
A much more pressing issue, one worth protesting, is how Iraq will be treated after the United States takes stewardship of the country. It will be a long process, and we have never been very good at projects like these. The media gets bored, and our attention will inevitably turn back to domestic issues.
Remember Afghanistan? They just finished a round of fundraising for their government, which is just over a year old. They shouldn’t have to beg after the pledges and support they received from the West. Not the case, of course. They’re desperate for US$234 million, about half the budget for the entire country. Without it, they’re bankrupt. On top of that, they need US$1.7 billion in aid for reconstruction. Unless they receive immediate aid, they say, Afghanistan will return to being the largest exporter of heroin in the world — how else will farmers pay the bills?
The U.S. has pledged $820 million. This seems like a good thing, but you can’t build roads with a pledge and the Bush Administration forgot to include Afghan reconstruction in the last budget, sneaking $300 million into the appropriations at the last minute. Needless to say, this can’t happen in Iraq. The stakes are far too high.
“As our coalition takes away their power, we will deliver the food and medicine you need. We will tear down the apparatus of terror and we will help you to build a new Iraq that is prosperous and free.”
The anti-war camp could continue tilting at windmills, but their time is much better spent ensuring that President Bush honor his promise.
a technology job is no excuse 