COMMENTARY: Give peace a chance (03/09/03)

COMMENTARY

Give peace a chance

by Andrew Kozak

We stand at a historic moment in time. The Soviet Union is fast becoming a faint memory in old people's minds. Nuclear arsenals have been disarmed and dismantled. Countries such as Kazakstan, South Africa, and Ukraine have voluntarily destroyed their nuclear weapons.

The old European powers desperately cling to the past and avoid their responsibilities to the future. In the former Yugoslavia, Russia backed its historical Serbian allies; Germany backed its historical Croatian allies. Sarajevo was subjected to a siege. Serb snipers targeted women and children. In Srebrenica, a Danish battalion stood aside as thousands of young men and boys were captured, tied up and executed. In Africa, the former French colonial rulers stood by and watched as a million Rwandans died.

U.S. aircraft bombed the Serbs into submission. When they surrendered, the Russians raced in with an armed convoy to defend the Serbs and, it seems, their right to commit genocide. Fortunately the U.S. got there, too, and our soldiers still keep the sides apart, and at peace.

Now there is an opportunity to shift, ever so subtly, the Middle East away from dictators, sheiks, mullahs, and terrorists, and toward democracy, equality and freedom. The results are not certain, and the road ahead will no doubt be difficult.

The French, Germans and Russians continue to protect their valued customer, Saddam Hussein, as they have for the past decade. They looked the other way as Saddam slaughtered his own people. They argued against the embargo. Now they argue for more inspections - business as usual.

They fear U.S. success. They fear risking a shift to freedom and progress for the peoples of Iraq and possibly the entire Middle East. They cannot seem to imagine a Middle East without Yasir Arafat, without Hezbollah, without suicide bombers, without the Saudi royal family showering money on Al Qaeda operatives living in the United States. They cannot imagine mosques that preach peace and love rather than jihad and hatred. They cannot imagine the world, speaking with one voice, telling Saddam to disarm, to get out of Iraq.

The French, Germans and Russians claim there is no smoking gun, no crater in New York City that can be tied directly to Saddam, and that no force of arms can be justified. However, in Iraq, the stock market is up, land prices are climbing and the average citizen can imagine what a new future can bring. They cannot wait for U.S. liberation, for the end of European colonialism and Saddam's dictatorship.

A century ago Europe was on the path to the slaughter of World War I. Later, Europe tried to give peace a chance and they got Hitler. They backed their old allies and got Milosevich and Srebrenica. If it were not for the United States there is a good chance they would all speak Russian. By giving Saddam a way out, do we really give peace a chance, or do we sentence future generations to the task of dealing with terrorist regimes, dictators and nuclear catastrophe?

The threat of a U.S.-led war has pushed Saddam to make gestures of compliance. The lack of credible commitment by our "friends" has given him hope that gestures alone are sufficient. The French, Germans and Russians are hoping to further extend a deadline that passed over a decade ago. By denying the world the united voice needed to convince Saddam to disarm, they are forcing the U.S. toward war. Our soldiers stand prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice, while the French, Germans and Russians continue to pursue their own narrow self-interests.

When Libya ordered the destruction of a Pan Am airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, the French denied U.S. planes overflight rights from bases in the United Kingdom. Libya was also a good customer of France. The French have repeatedly made it clear who their friends are. Their actions make peace less likely; they put our soldiers lives at risk.

Our soldiers deserve our support. It is time we each took personal action, made some small sacrifice. If in the end we speak with 280 million voices and wallets, we will be heard. So here is what I will do and I urge you to commit to similar actions.

I will tell my friends, my family and my children that the hands of the French, the Germans and the Russians are stained with the blood of mankind and will soon be stained with the blood of our soldiers.

I will not purchase their products. I will not visit their countries. I will not buy a Volkswagen, BMW, or Mercedes. I am sure most of us will never buy a Renault and certainly not a Lada. I will not take that ski trip to Chamonix. The Paris museums have no signs in English and are not worth the effort. I will urge our friends not to return to Martinique.

By paying attention to what we buy we can all help our own local economy, ourselves and the future of our children. Look at the label. Buy a few less items, but spend a little more when it says "Made in America." Invest the rest. U.S. companies will then be able to afford more research and development. Your kid may one day have a job with them.

I will ask my congressman why drugs discovered and manufactured in this country should cost less outside of it? Should it not be the other way around? German and French consumers should pay a premium for these drugs, not get a discount. Their health care systems are built on the backs of our innovation and investment.

I wish the world was a different place and that our soldiers did not have to fight. But, if they fight, I want them to win 100-0. Those Iraqis who surrender should have an opportunity to rebuild an ancient and once-great nation. To those who believe in Saddam, I wish a speedy meeting with Allah.

When this is over we should never forget who our real friends were.

Andrew Kozak is a professional engineer residing in Canton, Mass. He is a member of Plast. In World War II his father fought for a free Ukraine.

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