Anti-war even before war

The Thursday issue of The Daily Free Press featured a muckraking editorial cartoon from biology professor Syd Tamm. Tamm shows bombs flying toward the ‘new American flag,’ a target, that was launched by George ‘Warbucks’ Bush.

The Warbucks label was to include everyone cynics, anti-globalists, xenophobes and pacifists in one easy label.

While I’m not a huge Bush fan and am a registered Independent, I think I might be able to explain to Tamm and the far left why everyone else doesn’t have his level of anger and despair about the current administration.

First, we’re not at war with Iraq yet. In the old days, anti-war protesters would actually wait for war to begin before insulting the president and protesting for peace. In a similar vein to ‘preemptive strikes,’ Tamm and his fellow leftists are engaging in ‘preemptive protests.’ Both are equally ludicrous.

Second, we aren’t going to go to war with Iraq. Clearly Mr. Tamm is a biology professor and not a poker player, because he fails to understand the concept of a bluff. If the bluff doesn’t appear real, it doesn’t work. Fact: Saddam has weapons. Fact: he has used them, on three occasions during his power, offensively. Therefore, he can’t be allowed to have them. Diplomacy hasn’t worked. Now, the United States, working with the United Nations, is pressuring Saddam to get rid of them. It’s not about oil the oil companies would prefer we just lifted the sanctions and let Saddam stay, because that’s better for stability in the region. It’s not about ‘forcing’ Starbucks on the world, though if the Iraqis wanted to voluntarily buy some Starbucks, then why not.

Cartoons like Mr. Tamm’s do nothing to further constructive debate about a serious issue. They are childish and immature, and I, as a student, expect a higher level of intellectualism from my school’s professors.