THE NUCLEAR OPTION

To a substantial segment of Americans the Iraq war is just an annoyance. Unless you have a relative, friend or co-worker in the fight, it may as well be happening on Mars.

But most folks do want the war to go away. If you ask ten people at random how we can extricate ourselves from Iraq, you don’t get too high in the count before you hear the magic words, “Nuke ‘em”. When you respond that a million or even many millions would perish, the usual retort is “So what, as long as we get our guys out first.”

With an electorate like that is it any wonder the administration could make up a fairy tale about the need to go to war against Iraq back in 2003 and drag the nation along to implement that fairy tale?

And is it any wonder that they are beginning to throw the same loaded dice at us to get our assent to another fairy tale war against Iran?

Our leaders aren’t dumb. They’re just criminal.

Originally published in Glen Ellyn Sun, September 21, 2007