Begun, this clone war has.

It is ironic, given the current administration’s stance on cloning, that President George W. Bush has decided to drag us into essentially a clone of the same conflict that the former President Bush did. The noticeable difference between the two wars is that the first Gulf War had broad support, whereas the current conflict does not.

With so many people in America and around the world opposed to military action in Iraq, one wonders: why are we there? If you listen to the administration’s reasoning, we’re there not only to contain the threat of biological or chemical weapons falling into the hands of terrorists, but also to free the Iraqi people from a tyrannical regime.

If you were to ask the same question to any of the protestors, you may hear that it’s driven by an American lust for Iraqi oil, America’s desire to dominate the world, or even that it’s because the Bush family has a personal vendetta against Iraq.

I would like to toss out another possible reason of my own. We’re now in this war because we’re afraid as a nation. The events of Sept. 11, 2001 shattered our belief that we were safe, that we were essentially indestructible. Now, in the hopes of calming our fears, the administration has decided for the first time in American history to engage in a pre-emptive war against those who would wish us harm.

In these turbulent times, I cannot help but reflect on the wisdom of Master Yoda who said, “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”

Our fear has lead us down the path we now take, we are angry that we’re afraid and as Americans, we hate to admit that fear. Now comes the suffering. The U.S. military has shipped at least 77,000 body bags to the Middle East and we have been informed that we should expect a loss of life.

How exactly does one do that? While I am grateful for the military men and women currently in Iraq who are willing to fight and die to keep us safe back here, I’m sure that a great many of them would rather be back home with their families instead of contemplating the very real possibility of their own deaths. It is the friends and families of these brave men and women who will suffer the most, not the politicians and strategists who coldly calculate potential losses of life.

While I proudly support our fighting men and women of the armed forces, I do not support the administration that has placed them in harm’s way. I cannot say for certain that as a nation America has started on the path to the dark side, but we should take heed to Master Yoda’s warning: “Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny.”

Let us hope that this is not the case and that our brave men and women will soon be able to safely come home.

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