Gary Mendoza
December 15, 2003

The capture of Saddam Hussein sends an equivocal message—America will do what is necessary to bring a better, more democratic day to Iraq and the Middle East.  While this is clearly a very positive development for Iraq, America and our efforts to bring peace and stability to the most troubled region in the world, don’t expect the strident voices of the anti-war left to even acknowledge this unalloyed good news.  It’s not in their nature.

Following this week’s announcement that our so-called allies won’t be eligible to bid on U.S.-taxpayer funded Iraqi reconstruction contracts and that Halliburton may have overcharged the U.S. government, the anti-war left has been in high dungeon.  As the stridency of their attacks escalate, however, the list of objective facts that these loud voices choose to ignore continues to grow.

The most fundamental fact that is increasingly being ignored was made absolutely clear on September 11.  Islamofascists have declared war on the United States.  They hate America because we live in a free, pluralistic and successful society.  

Ignoring that threat or wishing it away won’t make our freedoms any more secure.  President Clinton tried that route many times--after the first attack on the World Trade Center, after the attacks on our embassies in Africa and, again, after the attack on the USS Cole.  Our willingness to turn a blind eye towards this growing threat only emboldened our enemies.

There is nothing we can do to placate these enemies.  President Bush and most Americans understand that Islamofascists want to destroy America, and we have to destroy them.

Because we have not yet found weapons of mass destruction, critics of the war have argued that the President created the specter of Iraqi control of WMD to convince a skeptical public to go to war.  Of course, the fact that Saddam used these weapons against his own people, that the UN inspectors had previously documented his possession of WMD and that nearly all foreign intelligence services and most Iraqi generals were convinced he possessed them is irrelevant.  Why should the anti-war left let undisputed facts get in the way of an opinion that helps them remain convinced of their own moral superiority?

This week, two new fronts were added in the anti-war left’s increasingly fatuous criticism of the Administration’s Iraq policy.  First came the announcement that France, Germany, Russia and others who opposed, and continue to oppose, America’s efforts to rid Iraq of a dangerous tyrant won’t be eligible to bid on Iraqi reconstruction contracts funded by U.S. taxpayers.  By arming Saddam, even in the face of U.N. sanctions, France and other of our “allies” have made our task more dangerous and more difficult.  If facts were the foundation for the views of the anti-war left, they might be wondering why we continue to view these countries as allies at all.

The disclosure that Halliburton may have overcharged the U.S. government on a fuel supply contract has worked the anti-war left into a lather.  Even though Vice President Cheney has no financial interest in Halliburton, all available information indicates that the Halliburton contract was handled by career procurement officers (with no hint of political interference), the possible overcharge was made by a Halliburton subcontractor and, if it occurred, did not add one dime to Halliburton’s bottom line and President Bush has made it clear that the government expects a full refund of any overcharge, the conspiracy wing of the anti-war left has increased the intensity of their argument that the Iraq war was part of Administration effort to benefit favored interests.  

Convinced of their own moral superiority, and with their heads firmly imbedded in the sand, the loud voices of the anti-war left refuse to take notice of undisputed facts that wholly undermine their fallacious arguments.  

In these dangerous times, America is fortunate to have leaders who base their policy decisions on the real world as it exists, not on an imaginary world they might wish we lived in.  

Contact Gary Mendoza at: garysmendoza@yahoo.com

Gary Mendoza is one of the most prominent Latino Republicans in the nation.  In 2002, he was the
Republican candidate for California Insurance Commissioner.  Mr. Mendoza previously served as Deputy Mayor of Los Angeles under Mayor Richard Riordan.  He
also served as California Commissioner of Corporations under Governor Pete Wilson.
 
 

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