Wednesday, March 26, 2003 C. L. Hanes

I remember the hostility captured by the media in the streets of America by citizens opposed to America’s involvement. It remains a mystery to me how popular opinion can apparently be so easily influenced by a minority over a majority that is reluctant to parade in support of their duly elected government. It really is the essence of a democracy that is unique to the democratic world. It is unfortunate to see the democratic world impose such horrific day to day accountability on its Government amidst such a horrific time.

I find it objectionable to see the frequent assault on those choosing to support their government (voted into power by the majority of the American people) with the subtle assertion that they are "war mongering". Certainly the Peace Demonstrators (they appear to have become Peace Protestors unfortunately) understand that their actions and conduct carry a very direct impact and serve as a major propaganda tool for the enemy.

I am personally still spinning about the position taken by Prime Minister Chretien announcing to the world that Canada did not support President Bush’s Administration’s position with respect to requiring that Resolution 1441 be met.

The very assertion by anyone that "George Bush is after Oil" is egregious and intellectually offensive. It is obvious that this position cannot be supported with material fact. It suggests that some guy has control over the destiny to arbitrarily attack a country for it’s resources. Shame on the person who utters such egregious and uninformed allegation. Shame on anyone who gives credence to such publishers of such basely allegation. To be uttered by Americans and/or Canadians, let alone any free world country’s citizens is unconscionable. To think that this type of atrocity has been visited by political leaders in Canada suggests to me that the Canadian Government has lost control of its officials and should be called to account for it’s recent conduct and decisions. I believe that the Canadian people are owed this!

I’m not a military strategist but I’ve been in my share of street-fights in my youth and I’m a serious long time student of Sun Tzu. By my meager measure, President Bush has put together a sound strategy and plan that is flexible and able to move with the flow of Iraqi forces. The Iraqi fixation on deception, possibly construed as "pathological" in the West is something that America appears to be adapting to. I think the embedding of CNN reporters was directly accountable to anticipated propaganda and expulsions of American Press from Iraq. Again, well done America.

Yesterday I was trying to draw comparisons between the two military forces at odds in this war. Over night we have learned of Iraqi military:

1. Wearing civilian clothing with explosives strapped under their civilian clothing giving themselves up only to detonate the explosives;

2. Groups of Iraqi military with groups of civilians in front of them while they fire on coalition troops;

3. Buses following tanks and unloading the civilian dress but heavily armed occupants assaulting coalition troops.

Clearly this is not the conduct of a legitimate military. Rather it IS conduct consistent with "Terrorist Tactics". By their very conduct the Iraqi Regime has represented to the world community that they are in fact "terrorists" placing themselves in the same category as al-Qaida.

The first independent accounts on the issue of the cold blooded murder of the American POW’s in the initial hours of the war can do nothing other than support the American Administration’s position in this.

My aspirations in maintaining this "War In Iraq Commentary" section of simplycondos.com is to hopefully post information that a rational American (and global) audience might come across in their search for a Canadian perspective on these very serious issues.

I welcome you support and input and invite anyone with a credible perspective to share to send it to me and I’ll make sure it is published along with my commentary. I am not trying to say that my view is more important than anyone else’s but I do have an opinion and assessment and I frequently feel that media bias interferes with Canadians and other global citizens ability to confirm their individual perspectives. This bulletin board will serve as a place where intellectual perspective can be shared.

Please feel free to send in your thoughts. I’ll be talking again tomorrow. Until then. May God bless you and all of the coalition troops in harms way today. My prayers also go out to the innocent Iraqi people caught up in the grasp of this tyrant and his highly paid, highly trained assassins.

In God we Trust. With George Bush and the American People I (and a great number of fellow Canadians) stand.