(U-WIRE) POMONA, Calif. — With the recent sentencing of Saddam Hussein, the timing could not have been better for the Republicans with Tuesday’s election potentially swinging the political pendulum.
With the continued conflicts stretching on, and the patience of America stretching thin, there could have not been any better news for the conservative party, who will be battling for many highly contested spots in Congress.
Just as the capture of Saddam slightly raised approval ratings for Bush, this may temporarily help the President’s popularity and policy support for a war that has just endured a month with the most American soldier casualties since it started.
Overall, it will definitely be an opportunity for President Bush to communicate the lesson that can be learned by “staying the course” in a war that has seen little success or moments to be proud of.
No matter an individual’s personal feelings on the war, the Hussein capture and now sentencing is a very positive aspect of our “War on Terror.” The way we conducted the invasion and search could have been avoided for other options, however, the results of the removal of the dictator was still successful.
The problem in this situation is the means do not justify the ends. The focus of Bush’s plan was to remove Hussein, which could lead to the creation of a free and civil country.
However, with the figurehead for suffering removed, the country is still in the grips of violence as it teeters closer to an all-out civil war every day.
The reason that the sudden transformation did not occur as the statues of Baghdad fell is because even though the man was gone, the ideas that he instilled into his followers were just as strong.
Although support for the removal of Hussein was met with much support by the people, there was still pockets of the majority that had convictions of hatred and violence strengthen because of our military campaign.
These convictions must be extinguished, and can only successfully be done from within by the citizens showing the fanatic groups their ways will not be tolerated.
I think the conviction of the former dictator is a bigger victory for the Iraqi people than for President Bush. The United States was responsible for the capture, yet an Iraqi judicial bench held the proceedings.
It shows that the Iraqi people will not let the man that gave them so much violence and suffering will not go unpunished. It clearly shows that the ideas that are hard to kill do not have a place in a future Iraq.
It is too soon to see if this event will help in the rebuilding of the country, but it should be shown as a true victory for the Iraqi people and hopefully can be a token that the citizens can rally behind.
The problem back in the states is that the event will be politically spun so much that the true accomplishment will be lost in the self-praise of the Republicans.