Jeff Koopersmith

Colin Powell tells the United Nations
Don't Mess With Texas!
... and other stupid but endearing things
By Jeff Koopersmith

Feb. 5, 2003 -- PHILADELPHIA (APJP) -- I watched General (now Secretary of State) Colin Powell this morning addressing the United Nations Security Council, a group of men and women whose theoretical for us -- and real for many of them -- mission is to maintain peace on our shrinking and starving globe.

During the past decade, and before, ultraconservative Republican members of Congress -- and a slapstick comedian series of GOP Presidential candidates -- have attacked the UN unmercifully and cruelly, brandishing the weapons of bullies, telling the rest of the world, "We are the kings, you are the pawns. Follow our lead or we won't pay our dues. Do what we say, or we'll take our golden ball and leave."

It was therefore interesting today to watch General Powell (who called the owners of TV Guide "Mom and Dad") appearing scholarly, concerned and modestly peace loving, while in fact this morning an engaging act of bravado -- presenting a litany of incidents, photographs, transcripts and other material that might do us proud and convince the supermajority of Security Council members that Saddam Hussein in not to be trusted and because of this must be destroyed -- along with an "indeterminate" number of Iraqi, American and allied boys and girls.

However, Secretary Powell missed the point -- and in doing so thumbed his nose at the truth and at the very foundation of thousands of years of diplomatic history and the lessons it teaches.

The truth is simple: the United States of America could, all alone, and even more easily in concert with other nations, quietly stop Saddam Hussein from hurting America or anyone, including his own people. At the very least least, we could do this to Saddam far more effortlessly than we could, for instance, to North Korea or any of a dozen members of the stated or unnamed "Axis of Evil" as outlined by our President.

Leaving Saddam Hussein with real or potential weapons of mass destruction, or the promise of gaining them, poses no true threat -- and President Bush knows this. Acting on the pretense that Saddam or someone else "might" use these weapons later is akin to disarming ourselves, for at some time in the future, America too could be ruled by a madman worse than Saddam, and far too big to restrain.

What kind of logic is this? I suggest the convenient kind. Telling the world that we must kill and be killed in order to insure Saddam's destruction is just plain harebrained.

If Secretary Powell's reasoning were appropriate, the United States would also tell the United Nations that it must eliminate the leadership and weapons trove of dozens of nations -- including our own! In fact, most nations of any size have weapons of mass destruction -- in far more dreadful quantities than does Saddam. Some even have the technology to use them today, not tomorrow.

And none is more able than the United States.

In fact, the list of nations who have engaged in war against their own citizens at one time or another -- the element that President Bush dragged up as part of his "justification" and Mr. Powell fell back on even in his closing remarks today -- is almost as long as the roster of nations itself, including -- oops! -- the United States of America.

So, what then is the truth?

This is difficult. I believe the truth about Iraq lies somewhere between our belief that we should police the world -- not for altruistic reasons -- and from self-protection, avarice, worry; and, to save face, for the President of the United States.

His cabinet and his advisors are tyros, apprentices at the bench of diplomacy. Those of his advisors -- and there are plenty -- that have told him not to wage this war have either left or been turned out to pasture at the White House.

President Bush believes he has traveled too far, and is now apprehensive to peddle back and take another look. He may have been prodded from the wrong side. He may be too stubborn to examine the potential consequences of his actions. He may be just plain stupid and adolescent.

It is not for me to know, for sure. Yet I wish the President well -- for it is he that places himself on the line today. It is his legacy that is at risk.

As is always the case when a child finds himself trapped by the evidence, the United States today -- because it is big enough, and rich enough, and didactic enough, and, yes, naively well-intended enough -- will go to war rather than retreat from what most of the world that are not American stake-holders, thinks is murderous folly.

We are merely sending a dangerous and adolescent message:

"Don't Mess With Texas..."

"Don't Mess with the United States..."

"... or we will kill you!"

In the end, this is what Iraq and the impending tragedy of war is about.

Nothing less, and perhaps, yes, more.