The war has begun, and the U.S. fired the "first shot," actually, cruise missiles, in an attempt to "decapitate" Sadam Hussein and the leadership of his regime.People at the rally last night here in Seattle compared it to the "days of infamy" - September 1, 1939 (Hitler's attack on Poland), December 7, 1941 (Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor), and March 19, 2003 (the U.S. attack on Iraq).
Seattle has seven days of protests scheduled, as possibly other cities have also. We will be glad to be back in K.C. to meet with our friends and join with them in our local protests. It is inspiring to see all the anti-war people at the rallies, but it is discouraging to hear the news that the war is continuing and in all likelihood will continue until complete victory by the stronger side.
What are realistic hopes for our side? That civilian casualties will be kept to a minimum, that acts of gratuitous violence will not be committed by our side, that world opinion will keep our leaders in check, that future pre-emptive wars will be outlawed and that neither George W. nor any future president will ever commit a pre-emptive strike again. To hope that this war is stopped before total victory is probably too much to hope, but these lesser goals are still worth striving for, and well-attended protests will help achieve these "realistic" goals.
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