Lebanese leader opposes war, says Americans should support soldiers
The president of the American Lebanese Congress believes that Americans must rally around U.S. troops now that war with Iraq has begun, even though he still disagrees with President Bush’s handling of the situation. Malek Francis, whose peace-promoting organization is based in Uniontown and Pittsburgh, said his main thoughts are with the troops and their families.
“I oppose the war. (But) I support our young men and women who are fighting for our nation. I pray that all of them will come back home safely to their loved ones,” said Francis. “I am against the policy of President Bush, but I am for the troops now. I pray for their safety.”
Francis said he hopes for a quick resolution to the military conflict, even though he strongly believes that Bush had other options to remove Iraqi President Saddam Hussein peacefully.
“Unfortunately, our president loves to see fireworks in Baghdad and above the skies of Iraq,” said Francis, who predicts unfavorable long-term consequences for the United States in the arena of world opinion.
“We just erupted a volcano in Iraq and the Middle East,” said Francis. “It’s going to be difficult to win the peace. The bridges that were built before, between here and overseas, have been destroyed. It’s going to take a long time to rebuild them and have our friends and allies behind us.”
Francis said that part of the problem is that Bush and his advisors have tried to blame someone else for the nation’s problems, primarily economic woes, with “98 percent of them” pointing the finger at the Clinton administration.
“But none of them go back to the 1970s … when (Vice President Dick) Cheney and (Secretary of Defense Donald) Rumsfeld and (former President George) Bush Sr. were the ones who helped (Saddam), helped the butcher of Baghdad,” said Francis.
Francis said the United States supported Saddam’s use of chemical weapons in his nation’s war with Iran because back then the Iranians were viewed as a prime U.S. enemy.
Although Saddam “is not smart” and is “the leader of a tribe” within Iraq, Francis’ view holds that neither Saddam nor Bush was elected by a majority of his respective people. “But we can’t put them in the same category,” he added.
However, Francis goes so far as to note that the leaders of all Middle East nations are dictators or war criminals, including Israeli leader Ariel Sharon.
“They are dictators. They are no better than Saddam Hussein,” said Francis, who ticked off Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and Kuwait as oppressive dictatorships. “We liberated Kuwait for the sheik and his harem, not for the Kuwaiti people. None of them believes in democracy, but we call them our allies. …Yes, Saddam is a murderer, but who is not in the Middle East?”
Looking forward, Francis believes that U.S. policy makers need to “sit down and think” about what constitutes this nation’s best interests and stop blaming other people for the nation’s own problems.
The invasion of Iraq also represents a watershed event in U.S. history, said Francis, who added that the move may cause a significant erosion in stature around the world.
“The whole world has been behind us in order to fight international terrorism,” said Francis. “Unfortunately, now, for the first time in the history of America, we are attacking a sovereign nation. History will not be kind to the Bush administration.”
Also, the founder of the ALC thinks backlash against the move in the Muslim world may result in even more terrorist activity.
“In the Middle East, yes, we are going to create more terrorists …the average person (there) will tell you, ‘There are more than 200 UN resolutions against Israel. Why doesn’t the United States go after Israel?'” said Francis.
Francis said that he harbored hopes Wednesday night that pre-emptive U.S. bombing would eliminate Saddam and thus avert the need for full-scale U.S. military action. That apparently was not the case, as the military action escalated throughout Thursday.
Francis sees a political motive in Bush’s decision, believing that he “wants to go all the way” in Iraq so he can use it as a campaign issue in next year’s presidential election. But he thinks the administration has miscalculated with its theory that removing Saddam will pave the way for democracy in Iraq.
“I don’t believe there will be democracy and freedom in Iraq. There will be a civil war in Iraq, among the Shiites, the Sunnis and the Kurds,” said Francis. “And we’ll be caught in the middle, unfortunately. Then we’ll try to find a way to get out.”