Now I certainly have nothing against civil disobedience. It can be very effective when done properly, and frankly I think that a structured program of non violent civil disobedience could solve a lot of problems in Palestine.

But some of these war protests in the West are more than just counterproductive. The other day I talked with my parents in San Francisco (what the Russians call "a hotbed of radicalism") and they mentioned some of the protests in SF. The SFPD is very much used to crowd control in situations like those, and they do a very good job - but a lot of these protests are getting out of hand. And what are they really accomplishing? They don't seem to be furthering the cause of peace. They don't seem to be swaying public opinion. Instead the average person watching the news sees financial districts shut down and broken windows when protests get out of hand. You're only working against your cause.

If someone could publically make a good, logical case for ending hostilities they would probably get a lot of attention. Sadly, no one has. I've yet to hear any kind of compelling argument for not going after Saddam.

Seeing protesters on the evening news saying we should be out of Iraq because of "human rights" doesn't help. The person interviewed on the news went on about how the United States is killing children, etc. Somehow it's not right for the United States to do something, but if the child's government who kills him, his family, or rapes his sister because of their religious beliefs, their ancestry, or just bad luck, sure that's ok. That's what the protester was saying to me.

Me, I support the war against ignorance, thanks.