Jonathan Shazar: All quiet on the Democratic front

Television journalists give their viewers all sorts of reasons to cringe on a daily basis. So now that they're on the air 24 hours a day, it should surprise no one that they would embarrass themselves proportionally more often.

In spite of their protestations to the contrary, TV newsmen have long since given up on objectively reporting relevant current events. It's much easier to ask questions of no consequence than to search for truth with probing, critical queries.

Still, their behavior is so stunningly despicable and stupid on occasion that I am taken aback. So it was with the most popular of thoughtless questions asked of prominent anti-war personalities, including Senators Lincoln Chafee and Tom Daschle: "Now that American troops are in harm's way, will you temper your criticism/tone down your language about the war/the president?"

Not limited to Fox News and other explicitly partisan networks, words similar to those rolled off the tongues of a wide variety of anchors, from the normally respectable Tim Russert to the Aaron Browns and Paula Zahns of the world. Apparently, it's completely normal to suspend one's deeply held beliefs because the president of the United States has put several hundred thousand young lives at stake.

Sadly, every major Democrat critic of the war has caved into the patriotic pressure. The only person who gave even a remotely courageous answer and stood by his criticisms was Chafee, who, on account of his being a Republican, need not fear a rebuke from the White House.

This is not a question of offering support to this country's men and women in uniform. One need not agree with the actions of President Bush to have the safety of American, Australian and British troops in mind or to hope against hope for a speedy victory. There is nothing unpatriotic about expressing one's opinion; in times such as these, we need a multitude of ideas, not blind faith in the commander-in-chief.

War to remove from power a genocidal dictator is just. To be sure, this country is far from consistent on the question of what to do about regimes that violently and blatantly violate the human rights of its citizens, but that should not dissuade the United States from taking altruistic action against such governments, nor does it change the fact that the Iraqi people deserve better than Saddam Hussein.

Still, the fact of the matter is that the Bush administration has botched the disarmament and removal of this brutal dictator terribly. Where simple facts would have sufficed, the White House spun a tale of fictitious nuclear programs and non-existent al Qaeda links. Where the delicate touch of diplomacy was needed, this president chose arm-twisting and bullying. In a complex and difficult-to-understand region, this country's leaders have applied their simplistic, black-and-white mode of thinking.

As a result, we fight nearly alone a war that could have been supported by all but the most ardent pacifist and self-interested Frenchman. The conduct of this administration has put all of us, not only the soldiers bravely fighting their way up the Tigris and Euphrates, at serious risk of terrorism from a world that hates us. What's more, it has robbed the United States of all moral legitimacy, political capital and international trust.

The irresponsible behavior of this president and his administration in leading us to war demands admonition and criticism, not only for what he has done, but for what is to come.

With American troops less than a day's march from Baghdad, it's clear that this war is nearing its endgame, albeit somewhat later than most expected. The future of Iraq is very much in the air; what is certain is that within the next several weeks, the United States will occupy a nation of 24 million people. It is imperative that the processes surrounding the rebuilding of Iraq not resemble the processes surrounding the commencement of this war.

That is why we need a multiplicity of voices, now more than ever before. This administration's track record is not good -- criticism is desperately needed to keep President Bush and his cronies honest and to force them to do what is right in the months and years ahead.

If the talking heads are right and such criticism makes me unpatriotic, so be it. At least I'll have done my duty as a citizen. At least I'll have been a good American.

Jonathan Shazar is a senior History and Political Science major from Valley Stream, N.Y.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.