Dear President Bush: Unsent Letter Re the Iraq War

(Editor’s Note: While I take a little summer vacation, I thought some of you might enjoy reading this letter I found in my files recently. It is dated 9/22/02 and it is the text of a letter I wrote, but did not send to President Bush in the early days of the build-up to the Iraq War. This blog is much longer than my usual blogs, so read it at your leisure! Headings have been added to make reading a bit easier.  Questions at the end for those who stick around! )

Dear President Bush;

I know you are a man who loves his family, and his country. You are trying to convince the American public to support a war on Iraq because you are convinced it is the right thing to do.  Most people have a knee jerk response to politicians and have great difficulty seeing the humanity in people on the other side.  I may be different in that I try to see into the hearts and minds of leaders with whom I differ. Because I have made an effort to understand you as human being. I sense that you are a man with deep convictions and a caring heart. Yet, I do not agree with or endorse many of your policies or decisions.  In the case of the proposed war in Iraq, I think you are making a grave mistake. 

Wrongdoers Must be Stopped

I agree with you, in principle, about the need for dictators and others dedicated to the pursuit of cruelty and violence, to be stopped.  Having worked with people who have done violence, I have come to believe that those who are who are actively hurting and violating other people must be stopped. The greater good requires it.   Had we understood this fundamental principle better in the 1930’s, we might have avoided the horrors of the Holocaust and the extraordinary loss of life in WW II.   Wrongdoers must be stopped, not just for the protection of other people, but also for themselves.

There is Self-Deception Going On

However, I have a problem with your decision to wage war against him and to wage it now. There is something wrong about this. I am NOT saying that you are a dishonest man or that you are being deliberately deceptive to the American people. I believe that you believe you are doing the right thing. I know you think he is building atomic weapons and perhaps biological and chemical weapons and you are afraid he is going to unleash these on the world. What I want to talk about here is not deliberate, intentional lying but rather the kind of self-deception that humans are all prone to, just by nature of being human. We are creatures who have language and who make up stories about what things mean. We are always doing things and saying things that are not true and we need our friends, families, and indeed our foes, to keep us honest.

Do You Want to Kick Ass?

Here’s what I see: there is the good part about your plan, which is stopping a scary guy. But what I am getting at here is that you have other reasons, ones that you are not fully conscious of, for wanting to go after this man. It looks like you want to kick ass, to have a war and to be victorious because you love the idea of being the GOOD GUY, of being the glorious hero who fights for truth and justice . It also looks like a war right now would be very convenient, a good idea for the US economy

A war also looks like a way to rally and unite the country against a distinct and discernible enemy, one on whom we can stage a conventional war and win! So much better to have a war like this than a shadowy war on terrorists who are lurking in their cells, impossible to find. They’re like cockroaches; you can never be sure you killed the last one.

Tell the Truth About What Happened for You on 9/11

 And have you ever told the truth about how scared you were on September 11? That must have been terrifying to be flown in planes all over the US, never knowing if the attacks were really over and if you and your family were safe? You came really close to death that day! What a helpless feeling that must have been! Does that feeling fuel a desire to get back at them, to kick their ass? And you weren’t able to protect 3000 other people who died that day.  All those people lost their lives and their families are still grieving.  Does that weigh on your heart? I’m not saying that you are to blame for that. What I’m saying is that if you would be honest about what you felt then, there might be less feeling of dishonesty and manipulation about this whole Iraq war right now.

 We are self-deceptive creatures, always trying to protect, defend and excuse ourselves. We are preoccupied with looking good to other people. We have a terrible time telling the truth about our motives to other people because we are hiding those truths from our very selves. And  the hard part is that other people see through us - ALL THE TIME! They see what we’re really up to. It rankles when people don’t own up to what anyone can see and feel.  We’re all ego driven and ego is what gives politics a bad name.  Bill Clinton pissed us off because he just wouldn’t stand up there and tell the truth.  How often do we meet a world leader who stands up and is totally honest about his motives?

Just Tell Us What Doesn’t Make You Look Good

Look George, here’s the deal, if you were clean and straightforward about all the reasons why you, and your administration, want this war, if you would just say how thrilling it is to kick ass I would be in awe. Man, if you could tell the truth about how beautiful it is to send laser bombs to hit targets and watch things explode! How cool! If you could say,  I’ve closed my heart to the sufferings of the Iraqi people, who are already deprived of medicines and potable water because of the UN sanctions,  because to really feel their sufferings would make it  too complicated to wage a war against them. If you could admit all these things I would have so much more respect for you.

When I look at the hidden needs to look good and feel powerful then the proposed war on Iraq doesn’t seem quite so necessary. I mean, what’s the rush?  There is no obvious, desperate threat to American lives or anyone else’s lives right now, is there?

How About a Creative Way Out?

 I agree, there might be someday but not at this moment.   So I ask you, isn’t there another way to go about this that would protect and preserve life? Why not get more creative? I mean, would it be possible to infiltrate Hussein’s security and go in and arrest him and put him on trial? Are you really ready to sacrifice thousands of young American men and women in a horrific war that might drag on for years and years?  Are you willing to inflame anti-American hatreds among young Arab and Islamic men who would be infuriated if we began such a war?  What if by doing so we were sowing the seeds for armies of future terrorists? Are you really willing to do that?

What if your own daughters were in the military? Would you be willing for them to go in and get killed? Are you willing to  feel the incredible grief of parents and siblings and children all over this country (and maybe others) who will be sobbing at the loss of their loved one, not just for days or weeks but maybe for years? Why not have an old man’s war, one in which you had to be 45 at least to fight, where only the oldest people in our country, say those 45 to 65 would have to fight and lose their lives?

Lead Already, But Lead with Integrity!

Is there some way to remove Saddam Hussein from power, without resorting to violence? What about non-lethal weapons? What about having a huge conference of leaders from all over the world? You could say “How can we do this so that everyone benefits? How could this be done so that people don’t get hurt?”  But you say, “Look Joy, you are being naive, you don’t understand that presidents need to make hard decisions, we make the choices no one else wants to make, and our job is to lead” Well then, go for it! Lead, but lead in a way that calls you and calls all of us to be in fundamental integrity with ourselves and with other people, all over the world.

George, I would love to follow you, I really would. But to borrow an expression from your fellow Texan, the great Dr. Phil, I have to say this:  This ain’t cuttin it for me. It ain’t workin. Tell the truth and I just might follow you to hell and back but this is not okay with me.

I vote no.

Joy Helmer

Seattle, WA

Questions for Readers:

1. What is the value in sending such a letter to the President, even if you are sure no one will read it, or that it will have no impact?

2. What other routes might I have taken to share my views (I didn’t do anything publicly to put my views in print)?

3. Might publishing something like this have some value after the Bush administration is out of office?