Column: War through the looking glass

Any ardent observer of world affairs today must feel as though they've taken a journey through the looking glass. Somewhat more than ever before, nothing is what it seems to be, and everything appears to be what it is not.

The current matter taking center stage is the prospect of war with Iraq. The very designation itself is a deliberate misnomer. For when the strongest military to have graced the earth's surface takes on a sickly and utterly debilitated state, their interaction is not, as we are led to believe, the locking of horns between two equally equipped rams. Rather, the many ships and jets currently encircling Iraq are more like ravenous buzzards awaiting the final breath of some parched animal beneath the scorching desert sun. And that is no war.

This is further evinced by the recent revelation of Pentagon documents detailing the exact nature of such a "war." According to plans leaked to The New York Times, the American campaign will begin with a 60 day continuous carpet-bombing campaign, with over a thousand flights a day over every major city and village in Iraq. One thousand flights a day for 60 days. One cannot begin to imagine the result of such a devastating offensive. We have seen the effects of one bomb in Bali or one attack in New York, yet the countless civilian lives that will be shredded by flying shards of burning metal, vaporized by fiery explosions or smothered by collapsing buildings are summed up by a convenient little government phrase. Collateral damage. Contemplate those words for just one moment. Remember them in a few weeks' time.

What was it that the Mad Hatter himself, President George W. Bush, said about the humanitarian goals of this "war"? It's a bit difficult to hear over the sonic booms. And nonetheless, the resounding declaration of another critical phrase has left most Americans rebuilding their fallout shelters. Weapons of mass destruction. As though having been carefully instructed, each member of the Bush administration does not fail to mention this phrase at least a dozen times per interview. These words for mass consumption have been ingrained in the public psyche to embody an all-together surreal armageddon scenario that can only be prevented by "war" and the acceptability of that other magical term, collateral damage. Never mind that Saddam Hussein has been effectively contained since his humiliating defeat at the hands of the world 12 years ago. Let it also go unmentioned that even his immediate neighbors--who actually share a border and a hemisphere with the beleaguered nation--dismiss the possibility of an existing Iraqi threat. And dare we stress that disarmament would not even be an issue if Iraq's major export was another o-word, say olives or oranges. Curiouser and curiouser.

As most Americans have conceded, Bush will have this "war" regardless of public or world opinion, international law or the facts on the ground. Using a clever ruse, he has roped Iraq into a catch-22. The weapons inspectors' regime was created to justify the American "war" one way or another. Were they to find illegal weapons, Iraq would be attacked for having them. Were they to not find illegal weapons, Iraq would be attacked for hiding them. Saddamned if you do, Saddamned if you don't.

Speaking of the Arab devil, another popular notion has been to suggest that opposition to this "war" amounts to support of his regime. It seems that the neo-conservative collective memory has taken a Reaganesque turn for the worse. In the 1980s, the same people who now oppose this "war" were then protesting human rights abuses in front of the Iraqi embassy; meanwhile, Donald Rumsfeld was in Baghdad showcasing our latest and greatest in weapons technology to none other than the Iraqi demon himself.

Around the same time, in 1983, current Israeli Crime Minister Ariel Sharon gave a lecture in which he unveiled his "New Map of the Middle East." The map showed Iraq divided into three states and Saudi Arabia divided into two states. Palestinians, a term unknown to the limited Sharon vocabulary, were to be mass-transferred across the River Jordan, leaving Israel in full control to annex the illegally occupied West Bank, Gaza Strip and Jerusalem. Two decades later, it appears as though this plot has come full circle. We are entering the initial phase, with Israel exploiting the fog of "war" on Iraq to commit further atrocities in the occupied territories.

Much like the citizens of this country, the international community can only stand and watch the situation deteriorate. The United Nations' own integrity is being called into question, as the hellbent American administration will go to any and all lengths to coerce weaker and dependent nations to support its efforts, as if a crudely attained U.N. seal of approval will add any legitimacy to this "war."