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Show THE ZEPHYR JUNE 1991 Soviets actually got Saddam Hussein to agree to withdraw from Kuwait Bush saved the day for the military by demanding the Iraqis withdraw In an Impossbly short period of time. Withdrawal In two days would have left their fleeing troops open to slaughter by the US. When the Iraqis did not begin an Instantaneous withdrawal the US rushed to launch the ground attack before anything else could Intervene. Heroism or Efficiency? Extreme caution, efficiency, and over-ki- ll characterized our military actions once left little room were was for heroism. commenced. Very they Heroism requires that there be a substantial chance that one might be killed In the fighting. The actual danger to our troops was often lower In Iraq than It was In some of the cities In the US from which the troops came. If our troops In Iraq were heroes, then most US citizens are also heroes for daring to live In a country as violent as this. To find the heroes of this conflict, we would have to look to the Iraqi troops. With little food and water, under some of the heaviest bombardment ever, with their fellow troops being killed by the tens of thousands, most of these troops stayed In their lines until the end. But then they didn't have much choice since they were killed no matter which way they went as soon as they left their positions. Is this heroism? Or mere survival? Our troops do deserve credit for being efficient workers. They got their assignments done, the bombs loaded, the air sorties completed, field camps constructed, airports built, etc. Thats what they were being paid to do. Most were National Guard on contract; they had received pay or schooling during training on the chance that they might actually be called up later. Not many had signed up for any of the noble "love of country reasons. These troops might even be called our new mercenaries. We have also become mercenary on the national level with Japan, West Germany, and Saudi Arabia paying us to do the dirty work. Fortunately, this time the task was a lot more fun than hassle. But a little more resistance would have made the game even more fun to play. In professional sports there are frequent Injuries and casualties. Its hard to forget the Interview with the disappointed American pilot who likened the situation to a football game where the other team didnt show up. The "other team was there, If a little hard to see amidst all the bomb explosions. They did the dying, and the American team had all the fun. Iraq Escapes the Full Fury PAGE 15 the tools of war. must be for our military men to picture the pacifists sitting In a circle thinking peace, while they are signing new contracts for tanks, stealth bombers, and more star wars technology. With the Iraq test range temporarily dosed, the military does not take a vacation, It begins pushing Its next budget through a now compliant congress. How many of the pacifists have gone home to their Jobs (taxes to the military), Instead of continuing to try to fabricate peace? How amusing It A Modest Proposal for Funding the Military Opera, ballet, symphony orchestras all have "Patron of the Arts programs, where for some p re --determined contribution, the "Patron gets to sit In a particularly desirable seat to view the performance. Thanks to the wonders of modem technology, we can now do even better for the Inclined members of the public. militarily A "Patron of the Arms program might offer the following: 1) Direct, real Arne hook-u- p via satellite between a console In the Patrons home or office and the video cameras In a fighter plane and In now video the Installed the "smart ordinance. relays A comparable satellite link between a missile or machine gun fire 2) control panel In the Patrons home and the real fire control panel In the fighter plane of his choice. In a future "safe war, like the recent sport In Iraq, the Patron would be 3) allowed to fire live munitions at live targets. The size of the contribuAon from the Patron would determine the size 4) and quantity of ordnance he was entitled to fire. How dramatic the "kill was would also have to be considered for the program to be fair. on-bo- ard This would provide the ultimate video arcade rush. Real missiles fired at real the safety of the Patron's home. Since our desert wars have become so safe targets for us, there would be little danger to either pilot or plane. Another funding varlaAon would be to let the Patron pay the fair market price for missile the he was firing. At least this way the person who values say, educaAon, more than he values killing, will no longer have to pay for someone elses hobby. Lets go one step farther and make this the sole source of funding for the military. The right-wifree enterprise types who feel the fine arts should be funded exclusively from private donaAons would surely see the philosophical equity In this proposal. There might Just be a lot less killing In the world If the killers had to pay the cost of the equipment for their sport, rather than billing It to us through taxes. And the ulAmate glory will be the "star wars technology where we dont even need the plane Just the console In our laps and the rest of the world our target of choice. from ng ft Given the history of the attacking country, Iraq should consider herself fortunate that so much of the country was spared. In other wars the United States has shown absolutely no hesitation In bombing large civilian populations. The civilian populations of Hamburg, Dresden, and Tokyo were the targets of massive fl rebomblng attacks; and both Hiroshima and Nagasaki were victims of the only atomic weapons used against people. We still have upon us the guilt of our slaughter of the Native American eoples from whom we stole this country. Perhaps the destruction was lessened because both the public and our leaders had the pleasure of watching the approach of the about to be destroyed target through the TV cameras In the smart bombs and rockets. Maybe the military knew that If It was ever going to be allowed to play this game again, It would have to show some restraint on such helpless victims. Some moderation now and they could still have their obscene billions Editors Note: I nominate Jack for the Pulitzer Prize. For a historically comparable essay, read "Comments On The Killing Of 600 Moros by Mark Twain. tomorrow. from We would like to think that even our military could see what an unfair fight this had fire early been. A few pathetic Scud missiles launched and a bit of Ineffective to use even Instead of her all that Iraq could offer for resistance. fighter trying on, were aircraft, Iraq tried to get them to Iran for storage. Possibly we spared them because of our gratitude that they were such perfectly for our own psychological problems, for our guilt and anger over Vietnam. victims willing anti-aircr- aft tom and marcy till photography One Cause of Wars A fundamental reason Hurt we have this type of war Is the passivity of our pacifists. Those who believe In war dont Just sit around hoping that war will happen; they ensure work to that something so valuable actually happens. They prepare for war by getting the hundreds of billions of dollars each year that they need to build the factories to build the bombs and planes and ships and tanks that they will need when It once again Is time for them to play the game again. They dont Just sit around "visioning war;" they do It as an active thing. By contrast so many of our pacifists dont do anything to promote peace until there Is another war, and then they protest again. Peace must be an active, positive doing. We need to begin the serious construction of the tools for peace, Just as the military constructs Pottery by Andrea Winters Decorated Pot Anasazi symbols around the lower bou4 Delicate Vase Hand stifled artwork on each vase Southwest Indians qf bygone days. Pottery Mug Generous size, glazed Do and fired mug. The Shop features many of Moab's local Artisans you like stoneware that is different? One of a kind? Something original? 33 No. Main 259-862- 3 |