Written on March 1, 2003

My son regularly beats me at chess.  I'm impulsive, I react quickly for instant gratification, and I accept small victories, missing the greater strategy of the endgame.  He is cool, calm, and collected, enjoys taking pieces off the board, but never overreacts when he loses a man.  The closer we get to war in Iraq, the more I think we're looking at the past and the present, in exchange for the inevitable future.

When President Bush talks of a post-Saddam country and the democracy he sees down the road there's no mention of previous examples of how this has unfolded elsewhere - no prototypes.  How many Americans really want to prop up a nation with more citizens than Canada, and for how long?  And that part of the world is not exactly a hotbed for the concept of freedom.  After all, how many freely elected Princes can you name?  If the President were to lay out a plan that seemed reasonable more people would feel better about our diplomatic impatience.  If the entire world has put up with Iraq's nonsense for so long, is there really a panic to settle this score right away?

It's a shame that the popular opinions of other nations and/or their leaders have become so much grist for the mill.  Why is it that Britain maintains a place in our good graces, when only Tony Blair agrees with George W. Bush?  Polls show clearly that the population of the U.K. is in line with other European countries like France, and that Blair may be out of a job if he doesn't (ironically) do the bidding of his own taxpayers.  I heard one American talk show host berate an Englishman by reminding him that he would be speaking German today if not for his American allies back in the 1940s.  Of course the Brit could turn around and say "you wouldn't be speaking at all if we didn't sail over and give you the English language to speak!"

We here in the USA have cultural ties to every corner of the world.  However, we are very selective in those we bash and the way we express our hostility.  For example, Russia is a strong ally with a truly unique shared history.  And it does feel like it was a million years ago that Ronald Reagan called them "the Evil Empire."  Funny how times change, and although Russia won't budge on the Iraq issue no one is calling for us to pour their oil down the drain to protest their stubborn stance.  France is the easiest target, and there is a persistant drum beat of "to hell with them - they can keep their wine and cheese."  Does that mean we have to give back the Statue of Liberty?  And as for those who think the French are weaklings and have a national disease that prevents them from standing up in a crisis, allow me to introduce exhibit A - the guillotine.

Then there's China, a country we have a love/hate relationship with, depending on the day and the subject matter.  We hate the things they've done to Tibet, but they have a billion reasons we ought to overlook their transgressions.  Forget all the things we buy for a minute - just imagine all those folks angry!  We love the advantages of dealing with China, and hate to think of what could happen if it all went wrong.  Mostly, we don't talk about it because we're damned afraid of China's ugly potential.

The future is unwritten, frightening and exciting.  I hope we don't go to war, but if we do I'd love to believe that somebody in our government has figured out an endgame that's worth the effort.  Resolve is admirable, but clear vision beats it.  My chess strategy has the best intentions, but it's not enough.  I lose because I can't see the board three moves in advance.  As an American citizen and taxpayer I don't welcome the idea of a 51st state called Iraq.