Liberty Enlightening the World

Abu Ghraib: Preserving Human Dignity

On October 5, 2005, the United States Senate voted overwhelmingly to defy the White House and pass an amendment to the military spending bill offered by Senator John McCain.  This amendment would prohibit the use of "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" against anyone in U.S. custody, regardless of where they are held.  The vote was 90-9. 

Speaking on the Floor of the Senate, Senator McCain argued in support of the measure as follows:

Mr. President, war is an awful business. I know that. I don’t think I’m naïve about how severe are the wages of war, and how terrible are the things that must be done to wage it successfully. It is a grim, dark business, and no matter how noble the cause for which it is fought, no matter how valiant the service, many veterans spend much of their subsequent lives trying to forget not only what was done to them and their comrades, but some of what had to be done by their hand to prevail.

Getting America's Real Message Out!

In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, a spontaneous outpouring of sympathy radiated toward America.  It came from everywhere.  In Europe, German Chancellor Gerhard Schröeder announced "unconditional solidarity" with the American people in their "time of national tragedy."  The French newspaper LeMonde declared: Nous sommes tous Américains! ("We are all Americans!”).  NATO members invoked Article V of the common defense treaty and proclaimed the attack against the United States to be an attack against all member states.  Good will came from all corners of the globe.  It came from friends and adversaries alike, and it came with the deepest sincerity.

Fleeing the Collapse of the World Trade Towers

Yet this unity evaporated as fast as it came.  As the prospect of war with Iraq grew more serious, once unifying sentiments rapidly became engines of anger and active opposition.  People took to the streets in protest against perceived U.S. arrogance and unilateral behavior.  America's relations with the world's publics -- not to mention traditional state allies -- became severely strained, inching their way to the point of open hostility.  With a sudden and shocking spontaneity, the situation quickly spun out of control.  Before long a serious threat to U.S. national security had boiled to the surface as America became dangerously isolated.

The Spirit of Change

[Catholic Priest, Market Square, Krakow, Poland (1987) at the Statue of Adam Mickiewicz, Polish Poet, 1798-1855, © 2004 Gerald L. Campbell]

What's in an image?

The spiritual dynamics embodied in this image defied a mighty army and unleashed forces that made the might of that army dissolve.  Think of it long and hard: the Soviet army was never defeated in battle.  It merely became inconsequential and irrelevant.

What made it irrelevant?

Ordinary people -- unorganized yet united in spirit.  The war they fought was on another plane.  It was not fought on the plains of Europe.  It was a war of ideas fought to win the "hearts and minds" of oppressed people everywhere.  The clash of ideas -- not the clash of machines -- defined the order of battle in this war.

Why did ordinary people become united and existentially engaged in this struggle of the spirit?

A Strategic Fifth Column

John Quincy Adams wrote that America's destiny was to be the "beacon on the summit of the mountain, to which all the inhabitants of the earth may turn their eyes for a genial and saving light -- a light of admonition to the rulers of men, and a light of salvation and redemption to the oppressed."

The Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World -- by Edward P. Moran, 1886.

New significance has been given those words by the splendid military tactics that obliterated the taliban, seriously degraded al Quaeda, and decapitated Saddam's regime.  To the oppressor, an ultimate warning has been issued.  To the oppressed, history has given birth to a new springtime of hope.

Unlike anything that has gone before, America's military power has demonstrated a remarkable ability to discriminate between the tyrant and the innocent.  The Goddess of Justice smiles more favorably upon the oppressed.  The long-suffering dream emblazoned in the hearts of our common humanity -- a dream for individual dignity, human solidarity, and freedom -- stands poised to blossom anew as the age-old sanctuary for despots stands more naked and vulnerable than ever.

But to fully seize the moment, we must do more than fight a tactical war against terrorists, and their networks and state sponsors.  We must also take the strategic offensive.  We must summon with renewed vigor our moral resources and reafirm our unique position in world history.  America must reach out to the 'hearts and minds' of people around the world and transform this latest phase of the war against terrorism into a struggle for the freedom and dignity of man.  Why is this so?

Semantic Confusion

[Written on February 14, 2003 by Gerald L. Campbell]

The unanimous passage November 8, 2002 of UN Resolution 1441 giving Iraq one last chance to willfully disarm or face ‘serious consequences’ was widely heralded as a triumph of diplomacy.  Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that this action “has strengthened the cause of peace.”  “Whenever the Council is united, it sends a very powerful signal.”

Secretary of State Colin Power Addresses U.N. Security Council on Iraq

Today, sadly, confusion has replaced unanimity.  Nations have become dangerously divided.  The NATO alliance has split into factions.  The US and the UK have become increasingly isolated.  Public opinion everywhere is deeply troubled.  And hopes for a peaceful resolution of the Iraq crisis have withered.  Why has this occurred?  What has happened? 

UN Res. 1441 established three operational objectives.  First, Iraq was ordered to provide within thirty days a full disclosure of the disposition of its nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons capability.  Second, Iraq was required to prove its compliance with the full disarmament provisions of the resolution.  Third, UN representatives were directed to verify Iraq’s compliance and, if necessary, destroy whatever unlawful materials and capabilities still existed. 

All this is straightforward enough.  The burden of full disclosure and proof of compliance was placed squarely upon Iraq’s shoulders.  UN representatives were ordered to verify whether Iraq was acting in good faith and, if they were not, to notify the Security Council of the need to invoke ‘serious consequences’.