Enough is enough already. Some people really just don’t know when to stop. Last week’s “walk out” against occupation in Iraq was an exercise in futility and stupidity. We’ve already invaded Iraq, lots of soldiers have already died and even more Iraqis have already lost their lives. Walking out of class and harassing ROTC cadets and army recruiters is not going to change any of that.
The anti-war protestors certainly have a right to protest. They had that right before the invasion, they had it during the invasion and they have it now. But there seems to be little to gain by protesting the war at this stage in the game. The only thing they are accomplishing is taking credibility away from their cause. The only result of pulling the troops out of Iraq now would be Iraq falling into anarchy and eventually back under the control of a tyrannical regime. The alternative is to finish what we started and leave Iraq as a democracy when the job is done. Those who demand that we leave Iraq now are so caught up in politics that they would prefer the former, causing all of those who have already died to have lost their lives for nothing.
Logic tells us that if the protestors cared so much about innocent Iraqis, whose deaths they know how to count, they would want them to live in a free country and not a tyranny where political dissenters are executed and tortured. That is not, however, the opinion that they present. Students walked out of class Thursday to demand that we pull the troops out of Iraq.
It’s too late. The war is over. We went to Iraq, we removed Saddam Hussein, and now we need to finish supporting the Iraqis while they stabilize their new government. Nation building takes time — get over it.
By now, some of those opposed to the war have begun to recognize the futility of demanding an early pull out of the troops so their focus has changed. The new targets of attacks are army recruiters and ROTC cadets. We are now being told by a number of activists why the army should not be allowed to recruit on campuses. ROTC programs are a vital part of our nations defense. Such programs allow bright young people, who the army needs to fill its officer positions, to join the military and get a college education. It also allows people who would not have otherwise been able to afford such an education to get one.
We have been told recently on these very pages that the whole concept of the army paying for college shouldn’t be an issue because college should be free for everyone. These are separate debates. We are either talking about the merits of free education or the merits of a military funded education. To victimize ROTC cadets and army personnel with justification that education should be free is ludicrous. The entire debate has exposed the hypocrisy the radical anti-war camp. They are so fundamentally opposed to war that they will say anything they think will help their cause and demand the end to the war no matter the expense.
A few days before the protest, a woman passing out fliers on State Street asked me if I was going to walk out Thursday. When I told her that I would not, she responded by asking, “Why not? People are dying.” How would my not going to classes that I need to complete so I can graduate have any affect on the fact that people are dying in Iraq? And if she is so worried about people dying why doesn’t she go to the Southeast and protest against terrorists who blow up nightclubs or go to Central Africa and protest warlords not allowing donated aid food to reach their people. The answer is that is easier to stand in Library Mall and pretend that they are like their heroes from the ’60s. Newsflash — this isn’t Vietnam.
Adam Smith ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in Economics and Political Science.
