Mood:
d'ohTopic: "Happy Anniversary"(9)
There were two incidents that stand out in Frodo's mind. The first was the look he got from one of the twin sons of his friend Legolas. Despite the good feelings and friendship Frodo shared with a son of his warrior-friend, the disdain the boy held for Frodo at that moment was readily apparent in his speechless glare at the Hobbit. The other encased the words spoken by one of the Men of Gondor who was so shocked to hear three voices united in opposition that he proclaimed dis-belief that "real men" could hold such an opinion. That is how it was, ten years ago, this day.
It is difficult for Frodo to otherwise chronicle the beginning of an ill-conceived war. Impregnated in ignorance of the opposition, the protagonists first sought to convince the peoples of Middle Earth that a threat to all was at hand. Instead, as Professor Morgenthau apparently suggested, the "balance of power" was destroyed with the subsequent fall of the Sunni leadership in Iraq. The Shiite majority, a term known but to God in those days, today is a pending nuclear threat unchallenged among all their neighbors. The lack of knowledge evidenced by the political leadership as well as their supporters in the general populace plagues our homeland to this very day.
The "Bush Doctrine" became an accepted course of action, in the minds of some, for striking an apparent enemy before they did so to us or our allies. Frodo still bows his head and shakes out the cobwebs when he remembers that said thesis was last utilized by those who treacherously bombed Pearl Harbor.
A cabal, drawn upon a concern for the safety and security of an ally, was dubbed the "Neo Cons," and their influence was so great within the roles of leadership and political power that all of Middle Earth found supporting them was an easy decision. Except that is for Frodo and those who advanced the position that war was the absolute last choice for action, and would never be used without clear and present danger.
Today, Frodo watched replays of John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, John Mccain, and so many others who granted support for the war, followed eventually by a complete sleight of hand slightly more than a year later. What bothers Frodo is that so many argue that the war was justified, or that the Iraqis were in some way involved in the terroristic activities than spurred George W. Bush to become the Incomparable Moron that he will always be, to the Hobbit.
There was no proof to justify the course taken, there was no statesmanship applied to establish standards of behavior. Not unlike the collapse of Wall Street some years later, only the little guys suffered while none of the culprits spent a night in jail. Too bad.
