TheSkiffView
SUPPORT
World leaders should take firm stance

It can be argued into the ground whether or not the United States has entered this war for the right reasons.

Is this an ethical war? Is it legal based on international law? Is it primarily meant to free the Iraqi people or to gain control of oil reserves?

No matter what your opinion is, this nation will be at war until Saddam Hussein is overthrown.

The question remains, how much help will the United States receive from other nations? More than 30 nations have publicly pledged their support for U.S. forces, even if many of those aren’t lending actual military assistance. Another 15 have allegedly lent their support as well, but they wish to be kept anonymous. Herein lies the problem for the United States.

Plenty of nations are at least lending some degree of support to the war, but most of them are doing so halfheartedly. They want to maintain good relations with President George Bush to further trade and stimulate their nations’ economies. But they also want to avoid angering their own people.

In every country but ours, the majority of the public is opposed to war. The leaders of these nations, wishing to stay on Bush’s good side, are attempting to tread a shaky line somewhere in between by giving some support without necessarily becoming a staunch ally of the United States.

If nations would lend their full support, this war, its ramifications and the following reconstruction of Iraq would go infinitely smoother. However, this can never be the case in a world where, beneath the surface, everything for world leaders is about money and power.

Prime Minister Tony Blair is Bush’s staunchest foreign ally. But now, as a result, his position is in jeopardy in upcoming years. One should be admired for taking a firm stand, whether you agree with him or not, but look where it’s getting him now.