Judging from Saturday's peace demonstrations in Washington, San Francisco and elsewhere, the peace movement, such as it is, is pretty much out of gas.
The problem isn't that people don't like peace. They just don't like fools.
The chief organizer of yesterday's fete was an outfit called ANSWER, which is bound up with the World Workers Party -- a socialist outfit that has supported virtually every socialist and communist bloodbath of the last century -- and speakers seemed more inclined to loathe George W. Bush than to criticize Saddam Hussein.
Nevertheless, the protesters are due one thing, and all Americans are due one thing. If we go to war, President Bush must explain in clear and dramatic form why. He'll need to bring something tangible: pictures, documents, stories -- stuff that will demonstrate that further inaction will lead only to more violence and bloodshed.
The whole world will watch and even European hypocrites will look to America for inspiration and liberation. We are the most morally scrupulous nation in history. We care about getting it right. So when it comes time to fight -- if it comes time to fight -- the president will have a moral, political and military obligation to do more than just connect the dots. He'll have to make the case.
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