An insidious morality has evolved in America.  It is the idea that war, even against homicidal maniacs bent on our destruction, must be conducted "fairly."

Seen through the fairness template, all the seemingly incomprehensible events which have occurred in the past five years become clear.  Removing Saddam Hussien was "unfair" because he was not directly involved in 9/11 and he didn't have WMDs.  It doesn't matter that he was an avowed enemy of the United States, a serial defier of U.N. resolutions, a mass murderer, and an unknown factor with regard to nukes.  "Fairness" dictates that we should have let him continue on his way until he demonstrated he could take out an American city directly, or arm a terrorist cell to do the same.

And so it continues.  Terrorists do anything they please to American troops in Iraq and we respond with Rules of Engagement--because it is unfair to overwhelm and destroy the enemy with our superior firepower.  We offer Iran and Syria "sticks and carrots" because it is unfair to tell them that any more evidence of their involvement in killing our troops in Iraq will be met with exponential levels of retaliation. We attempt to win "hearts and minds" of the civilian population because it is unfair to force, rather than persuade, them to choose between us and al Qaeda.  We allow the Iraqi government to make decisions antithetical to American interests because it is unfair to expect loyalty from an entity created and defended by our continuing sacrifice of blood and treasure.

We tolerate an "acceptable" level of missile launches and suicide bombings directed at Israel, because it is unfair that they flourish while Palestinians maintain their self-inflicted squalor.  We tolerate the blatant duplicity of Saudi Arabia because it is unfair to expect them to stop using our petro-dollars to fund their hate-spewing maddrassas and terrorist infrastructure.

We allow the re-organization of al Qaeda in the remote regions of Pakistan because it is unfair to disrespect their border integrity and obliterate those responsible for 9/11 and the continuing offensive in Afghanistan.

Why do so many Americans subscribe to such "moralism?"  The over-arching answer is obvious:  it is unfair the United States is the world's only superpower, and we must make every effort to minimize that reality, even to the point of enabling our own demise. 

Fair, after all, is fair.


atahlert@comcast.net