Peace Through Strength
For those of you who haven't noticed, Emphasis Added enjoys a private, exclusive feed from the RNC talking points of the day, courtesy of frequent commenter Brian Duffy. Well, perhaps "enjoys" is too strong a word. In any case, Duff's latest mantra is "peace through strength," an Orwellian formulation used to justify the impending invasion and conquest of Iraq on the basis of what now seem to be genuine but minute deviations from UN disarmament guidelines and an understandable reluctance to participate fully in the process when it appears that war is inevitable regardless of their compliance.
To the extent that US military strength is used implicitly to support the UN mandate and keep the pressure on Saddam, the policy merits support. No one wants Saddam to have, use or share WMD technology - although it is the latter two items that should be of more concern than simple posession.But that can be accomplished by means short of war. That is blazingly obvious even after a few short months of rigorous inspections.
If the US posture were simply a matter of playing "bad cop" to make sure that inspections remain serious, that would be fine. But unfortunately, the Administration has committed too much of its prestige to the idea of inevitable conflict to remain credible as the "strong, quiet type." Now we're just the musclebound lunkhead spoiling for a fight, and even our ostensible allies are uncomfortably pushing back from the table in horror at the sight of blood in our eyes.
It seems to me that American strength - narrowly defined as the ability to use force - is beyond any question. The willingness to use this strength in an aggressive way without explicit provocation is what's at issue. Questioning the motives of the Administration for provoking a "showdown" at this particular moment, and taunting allies, enemies and the UN alike with obnoxious rhetoric, is in no way an argument for weakness. It is an argument for the smarter and more subtle use of strength, and for the cultivation of other sources of strength besides brute force, as a means of solving a genuine and serious problem.
It's a truism that we can keep our security and prosperity only so long as we are ready to fight to defend it. But "ready" does not mean "eager," and people can tell the difference. Peace through strength is and always has been a good idea. But for a President who likes to keep things simple, it might be wise to point out that peace is more generally achieved by not fighting.
8:51:42 AM 
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