The following is a hypothetical dialogue between a liberal and conservative over the possibility of war with Iraq.
Conservative: So, do you think we should go to war with Iraq?
Liberal: Oh my God, no. Think of all the innocent civilians and American soldiers who will die.
Conservative: Sure. There may be some, but think of the millions worldwide who would die if Saddam uses his chemical or biological weapons.
Liberal: That’s crazy. Why would he ever do a thing like that? He’s not an imminent threat. Plus, we should concentrate on the war against terrorism.
Conservative: Saddam is the world’s worst terrorist! He has used chemical weapons against his own people, invaded Kuwait, supports the families of Palestinian suicide bombers, shoots at American planes every day, is attempting to build a nuclear weapon and has ties to Al-Qaeda terrorists. With a nuclear weapon, Saddam would hold a knife to the international community’s throat, as North Korea currently does.
Liberal: Well, that all may be true, but we should give the U.N. inspectors more time to find the weapons. Maybe they’ll uncover and confiscate them. All our troops could go home. We’ve already found some empty chemical warheads. We wouldn’t have to occupy Iraq after the war and Saddam will be disarmed.
Conservative: The U.N. inspections along with the entire United Nations are a farce. How could we possibly find the weapons in a country the size of France? Saddam has done everything possible to stifle the inspections in clear violation of U.N. resolution 1441, not to mention all the other U.N. resolutions he’s already violated.
Liberal: I don’t care! This war is about oil! That SUV-driving retard of a President and his oil buddies just want to exploit Iraq for its oil. It’s blood for oil!
Conservative: It’s partially a war about oil, yes, but not for oil. With biological or nuclear weapons, Saddam could invade his neighbors and control the world’s oil supply.
Liberal: If that happens we could all just drive those hydro-powered electric cars. Just think of all the pollution we could stop. It would be great for the environment, God’s true gift to mankind, unlike that filthy oil. I’ve had enough of this for now; let’s go smoke up.
Conservative: Nah, I have to look over my stock portfolio.
Pete Trombadore is a freshman majoring in Business Administration. He can be contacted at petetrombadore@hotmail.com.