Silflay Hraka

Yesterday, in the face of threatened French and Russian vetoes, the United States and Britain delayed a vote in the Security council on a resolution giving Iraq until March 17th to completely disarm. Minutes afterward, Iraqi fighter planes forced two American U-2 spy planes out of the air.

The U-2 planes were flying missions at 2 a.m. Iraqi time for the U.N. weapons inspectors when Iraq (news – web sites) launched fighter jets. According to two of the officials, the threat was directed against one of the two planes, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity.
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The U.N. inspection agency, known, as UNMOVIC, had given advance notice to Iraq of the flights, said the U.S. official.

As far as Saddam is concerned, he’s winning. Every inch that the U.S. and Britain give to the Security Council refuseniks is taken by Saddam as a further sign that things are going his way, and that he will weather this crisis as he as the others before.

He’s wrong, I think, but that’s neither here nor there. The problem with playing along with Iraqi/French strategy of delay is that the longer the United States stands on the precipice, the longer Saddam has to prepare for the onslaught. His preparations won’t effect the war’s outcome in general, but it will change the outcome for specific individuals, both Iraqi and American, in that they’re going to die when they wouldn’t have a month ago, or a week ago.

The longer George Bush sits dithering on the brink, the longer Saddam has to prepare and position his forces, to booby trap his approaches and oil fields. Those defenses are going to kill people, Iraqi and American alike, where they wouldn’t have a month ago, because a month ago they didn’t exist. Every hour that goes by is another hour where explosives are laid, poisonous gas is manufactured, and bacilli are bred. Every hour is another bullet, aimed at the heart of an American groundpounder or Iraqi conscript.

It’s all well and good to seek United Nations approval for a war the U.S. is going to prosecute anyway, but how many lives is the support of Chile worth? How many American soldiers will die because France feels compelled to throw its weight around? How many Iraqis will die because the German Chancellor is pandering to the left in order to draw attention away from his dismal economic record?

How many people will die because George Bush wasn’t enough of a cowboy?

Dropping Like Flies

I do have concerns regarding our impending war with Iraq and nothing is happening to help relieve those concerns. I have read for months that even without support the U.S. must take on this battle alone in order to protect ourselves and the world. We obviously don’t have support from France and Germany, but then, as many of you have noted on your own blogs, who cares? They have long histories of losing wars. But now, there appears to be a growing movement, albeit slowly, that shows a lack of support in our own country. I’m not talking about the lame-ass nude protests or various celebrities who are riding the peace train, but instead persons within our government who are resigning their positions in opposition to this war. It’s not that I think our government will collapse as a result of their resigning, but the message being sent is a troubling one, and the messages being heard by other nations is one of failing support for Bush’s handling of this crisis.

Dying With Style

I was wasting some time at work, trying to entertain myself on this overcast day, when I ran across this website. It is a compilation of some of the weirdest deaths in the last few years. Here is one of my favorite examples:

Roger Wallace, 60, was flying his radio-controlled plane near Tucson, Arizona, on 18 May when he turned toward the sun and lost sight of it. The plane, which weighed nearly 7lb (3kg) and had a wingspan of nearly 5ft (1.5m), then flew into his chest, killing him.

More of the same can be found at the site of strange deaths.