Almost a year ago, everyone in the United States woke up and began to wonder what happened. How could anyone attack our citizens without provocation? What have we done to make people in the world hate us so much that they would kill themselves to get their point across? And what was their point?

A year later we have answers.

In the wake of terrorist attacks, the United States attacked a country that could be best described as rural and tribe-like. The fact that many terrorists trained and lived in that country is not surprising. And I was not surprised that we attacked and bombed into the dust everyone who lived in that country. We had provocation and Afghanistan was certainly a safe target. Far enough from the power center of the Arab world so we didn't really piss off people we had to cooperate with. Unorganized and primative enough to guarantee victory. We were the thugs, and we did the thugging well.

Now our Prez is telling anyone who asks (and even those who don't really want to hear it) that we must attack Iraq now. Now. Now. Now.

No discussion, we must do it now.

We have a list of reasons. Why are you questioning my authority?

I question his authority because he is in effect, changing our policy about going to war. Namely, he is making us a first strike nation. We are the aggressors. We are becoming exactly what the terrorists thought we were in the first place: the bully of the world.

Is this what we've learned from our horror and sorrow? If we lose 3000 people, we get to bomb any nation we want into oblivion?

I grew up in the late 70s and 80s believing that one of those days everything was going to end. The Russians were going to bomb us or we were going to bomb them and the end of the world as we knew it would happen. We would have to learn how to live in a radioactive wasteland--or we'd just be vaporized. The reason this never happened is because we stated, unequivocally (most of the time) that we would never strike first with nuclear weapons. And Russia took this cue and never struck first either. Maybe it was fear of instant death of millions and millions of people, or maybe it was the fear that the leaders themselves might die--I'm not sure. But this fear kept us from obliterating the entire world.

We need to get this fear back, because we're embarking on a precedent setting attack here. We have no reason to go to war with Iraq. We have not been threatened by Iraq. And, while it is part of the Prez's "Axis of Evil," so are a few other countries and we're not talking about blowing them out of the desert sand. As a matter of fact, there are other countries with nuclear capabilities (India and Pakistan) who we continue to talk with...not fight. So why Iraq? Why now? And why are we striking first?

We have two countries on our side: Britain and Israel. The rest of the world is wondering what we've been putting in our coffee.

Our Prez is using the horror and sorrow of one attack (which we have fully, if not more than fully struck back for) to change the entire vision and aim of the United States. We should not allow this to take place. We need to speak out. For the 3000 people who died because we are a peace-loving nation that does not strike first without provocation, we need to draw our own line in the sand.

Our Prez was elected with less than half of the popular vote. He does not have a mandate, he has a tenuous hold. Just a bit over half of the nation believes we should strike Iraq, and that number falls with every passing day.

And all we hear from our Prez is that we do not have the option of not attacking. So he's not giving us any choice here. This is not a democratic solution, this is a dictatorial solution. And if we allow the Prez to bully us into bullying another country, it's our fault, too.

I believe the people of this country have it in them to stand up against unchecked aggression. Even if the unchecked aggression is coming from our leader. Believe me, if a few hundred million citizens tell Bush to quit it, he will. I don't think he's so stupid as to not to listen to his own people.

Let's try not to follow his example. Let's be better than that.

Matt Worley has always been a peace-nick, even in times of war.