Hollywood's Foreign Policy Stinks

So a bunch of Hollywood types get together and write a letter to President Bush asking him not to go to war with Iraq.  No big deal – unless you’re the mainstream media who acted like the best and brightest minds in foreign policy forged new ground and issued another Marshall Plan or something just as important.  The question that begs to be asked of these “B” list celebrities who rely on other people’s words to make them famous is what the hell do they know about foreign policy?

You may have recognized a couple of them, I actually thought some of them were dead, but from the crowd of reporters and photographers it seemed like Oscars were being announced.  They gathered in the little bistro in Hollywood to “unveil” the letter they were sending to President Bush that asked that he reconsider his stance on Iraq and think of alternative ways to resolve our differences – alternatives other than war of course. 

The made for TV president of the United States, Martin Sheen, who was so concerned about foreign policy that he is the proud father of the truly dysfunctional Charlie admonished Bush, "War is a reflection of despair, and I refuse to accept despair, we are called to be peacemakers."  Peacemakers huh?  Exactly how does one make peace with a man hell bent on our destruction?  To be fair – their statement is printed in full and we examine it piece by piece:

“We are patriotic Americans who share the belief that Saddam Hussein cannot be allowed to possess weapons of mass destruction. We support rigorous United Nations weapons inspections to assure Iraq’s effective disarmament.  However, a preemptive military invasion of Iraq will harm American national interests.  Such a war will increase human suffering, arouse animosity toward our country, increase the likelihood of terrorist attacks, damage the economy, and undermine our moral standing in the world. It will make us less, not more, secure.  We reject the doctrine—a reversal of long-held American tradition—that our country, alone, has the right to launch first-strike attacks.  The valid U.S. and U.N. objective of disarming Saddam Hussein can be achieved through legal diplomatic means. There is no need for war. Let us instead devote our resources to improving the security and well-being of people here at home and around the world.”

Okay – as far as patriotic Americans are concerned – we can leave that alone, but keep in mind these are the same people who burn flags and threaten to move if Republicans are elected to office, wait a minute- shouldn’t half of these has-beens have left the country since Bush is the President?  I digress.  The celebs support weapons inspections huh?  Well what exactly does that mean?  Do we trust Saddam to tell us where all of the weapons are or do we expect 100 men and women to simply find them in an area the size of California?  Weapons inspections can only work if they are true inspections and done in concert with a willing partner – Saddam is hardly that.

They don’t seem to like preemptive military operations because it will harm our national interests and reverse a long held American tradition.  Is that similar to traditions like Christmas trees in town squares and the Ten Commandments hanging in court rooms?  I can think of many traditions that Hollywood rejects, the least of which is something as complex as our national security policy.  They don’t think that America has the right to launch an attack.  Well – exactly when does the United States have a right to defend herself?  Is it only after Saddam hands out a bunch of suitcase sized chemical or biological weapons and his cronies release them in New York? 

Perhaps the most interesting part of the letter to President Bush, which I hope he ignores, is that the signers call for diplomatic means to achieve the disarmament of Iraq.  What do they think we’ve been doing for the last 12 years?  Diplomacy doesn’t work with Saddam any more than minimum wage works with Matt Damon. 

The letter to President Bush was cute and it got people who can’t get anyone to remember who they are to talk about them for a few days, but when it comes to foreign policy and the security of the country – I’d much rather trust Condie Rice, President Bush, Donald Rumsfeld, and Dick Cheney, than has been actors, washed up prop men, and stars who can’t remember their lines without being high on coke.  Call me crazy.