As another war draws close, who is listening?
As our Presidential primaries
roar “full steam ahead”, and the nation’s attention is pulled in various
different directions in order to shape our opinion of the candidate’s
qualifications (or lack thereof), the world keep turning. While paying close attention to which the
next republican nomination for President is a very important issue and deserves
its due attention, our nation faces the same difficult decisions on a daily, if
not hourly, basis. Another war is
brewing in the Middle East and is getting little attention.
In a March 7th USAToday editorial, the argument is being made that not only are we not paying
attention to the fact that a seemingly inevitable war with Iran is on the
horizon, but the nation needs to be paying attention to the fact the decisions
both for and against our action against Iran is being seldom debated.
“Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu, who meets today with President Obama, warns at
every opportunity that the window to destroy Iran's facilities is closing
rapidly as they're moved underground.”
The author seems to not desire
to lay opinion as to which side of the fence he/she falls on in regards to
supporting or opposing action, but rather that the debate itself needs to be
had… and the debate needs to be had now.
One of the most outstanding quotes of the editorial comes from former Defense
secretary Robert Gates;
"Those who say we
shouldn't attack, I think, underestimate the consequences of Iran having a
nuclear weapon. And those who say we should underestimate the consequences of
going to war."
The quote, as well as the editorial seems
to be asking, if not begging, for everyone to become more familiar with this
situation. I agree with the author of
the editorial and their plea for public debate over this issue. War is divisive; not only in public debate
and policy making, but in our relationships with other nations and regions
across the globe.
The editorial finishes with a
wonderful summation on the author’s thoughts about the coming conflict by
saying,
“If a war starts before the
public resolves that dilemma, the outcome is not likely to be pretty.”
Our attention to the Presidential
primaries/ races is indeed important and essential, but it does not mean that
the business of both domestic and foreign governments waits until the race is
decided. It is time to pay attention to
these issues.