Let’s just get this out of the way quickly, shall we? I’ll try and be brief so we can get back to the usual nonsense.

There exists a school of thought in which war is seen as inherently bad, in which the act or thought of war marks some sort of barbarism that we, as a society should have progressed beyond by now. This viewpoint, typically known as pacifism, holds deep roots amongst liberals and leftists.

I believe that war is innate and in many ways essential to the human experience. War, specifically agressive/defensive combat (not so much the political crap) has a very real and necessary purpose. And let me just summarize those in bullet points!

War:
* Demonstrates Power in a tangible way.
* Establishes a system of boundaries and repercussions among differing factions.
* Is a *physical* manifestation of rhetoric (put your money where your mouth is)
* Is immutable- because death is immutable- causing death *will* create change- beneficial or not.

Now- as for this war:
* I believe that the climate of the Middle Eastern region has emerged as a threat of similar nature to the pre-WWII Nazis.
* Saddam Hussein should probably be removed from power. His government and those that identify with him need to be *shown* that we have the power to destroy them. They need to understand this. The French understand this. The Germans understand. The Italians understand. Russians, Poles, they all remember WWII.
* The UN and European Nations have shown, time and time again, that they are unwilling to engage in combat to enforce their international law. WWII was not *that* long ago.

Given that, here are my misgivings about this thing:
* Regional, country-to-country combat will only work given targeted, extremely short-term conflict.
* Conflict must be followed by education, and an embrace of a truly disheartened and discouraged populace.

Eventually, the Middle Eastern populace will be dragged, kicking and screaming into an age where poverty and fanaticism no longer dictate their lives. When those poeple learn to condemn terror in their hearts, the threats against us will be diminished as well.

Sometimes, the only way to teach is through pain.