VigilanceVoice

www.VigilanceVoice.com
Saturday--November 9, 2002—Ground Zero Plus 423
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Saddam Hussein Given 7 Days
To Sign "Pledge of Vigilance"
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by
Cliff McKenzie
   Editor, New York City Combat Correspondent News

       GROUND ZERO, New York City, Nov. 9 --God created the world in seven days.  President Bush is preparing to destroy one of them in exactly the same time if Iraq's leader doesn't sign a Pledge of Vigilance.

      Friday, the U.N. Security Council unanimously agreed to a U.S. led drive to force Saddam Hussein to disarm Iraq.   He has seven days to vow to do so in writing.   If he pledges to disarm, he will have 30 days to list all his weapons and submit it to the U.N.  The inventory will then be compared to Western intelligence to measure its accuracy.
       Hussein is being challenged to show his cards--all of them.   He is also being told that his "Pledge of Vigilance" must precede his disclosure--that he must bow to world pressure and humble himself in writing within seven days--an agreement to comply.   If he doesn't, the wrath of Hell is poised to descend upon him.

        Seven days!
        That equals 10,080 minutes.  In this minutes, Saddam Hussein, the despotic leader of a nation of 23 million, must surrender his will to the world.   He is surrounded.   No nation is openly supporting him.  Even Syria, long a foe of the West, has joined the Security Council's mandate against Iraq.
        The world waits. It's a showdown between Vigilance and Terrorism.

        It's Hollywood's Gary Cooper in High Noon, or Yul Brenner in the Magnificent Seven, or the Gunfight At The O.K. Corral.    The good guys stand at one end of the street, the bad guys at the other.  Both have their hands at their sides.  Both have itchy fingers.   The clock tics.  The sun beats down.   The world inhales.
        Even though the U.N. Resolution does not contain any wording of a retaliation if Hussein doesn't agree to the mandate, the U.S. has made it clear it will use "lethal force" to insure Iraq complies.  America has, however, agreed to consult the U.N. of its actions against Iraq before taking them, but not agreed it requires U.N. approval to act unilaterally against Iraq if Hussein rejects the deadline.
        Two dates--November 15--the final day for his written agreement to comply, and, December 8, the deadline for a thorough and complete list of all his weapons and their locations.
         Will Hussein blink?
         That is the big question.  And, if he does, will he be truthful?  That's the other question. 
         Churchill said that "appeasement is feeding an alligator in hopes it will eat you last."  George W. Bush is tired of feeding Iraq's alligator.   He's ready to quash the Iraqi dictator and set an example to the world that rogue nations who secretly try to build arsenals of mass destruction, or employ Terrorism as a rule of leadership, will suffer similar consequences.

        North Korea is one of those rogue nations.   Its recent disclosure of building nuclear weapons is the result of lax world management of weapons of destruction.   Unless someone takes a tough stand against the proliferation of them, who knows how many other countries will pop up with the power of Hell grasped in their hands.
         There are many moral, ethical and political issues regarding the U.S. position against Iraq.  The most obvious is the right America has to self-police the world.  It is further clouded by the question of whether any nation has the right to impose its will upon another nation's sovereign right to do what it pleases--i.e. regime change.
          Fortunately, there is an overriding factor that supercedes all the rules of privacy within nations.  It  is the duty of all nations to protect the children, and the children's children's children.
         America has stepped out of the haze and taken the position of Global Parent of Vigilance.  
         In the face of a United Nations that prefers lengthy, intellectual and polemic discussion on issues such as sovereignty, the Bush Administration prefers "Right Actions" rather than Complacent debate.    Tired of years of treaty breaking, and rejection of agreements Iraq made after the Gulf War to allow weapons inspectors access to its country, America has stomped its foot and said, "enough is enough."
        Off comes the silk glove.   In its place, the Iron Fist.
        An analogy to the Iraqi situation is a group of parents standing in circle watching a bully beating up on a smaller child.   The parents are all engaged in intellectual conversations about what they should do, and their right to stop the fight.   In the meantime, the weaker child is being bloodied while the bully is sneering at the crowd as he continues to beat the weaker child.
        One parent no longer can stand the faddic communion of "right over wrong."  He sees the bully has brass knuckles, knives, cans of Mace, saps, guns and other weapons strapped on his belt.  The angry parent steps forward and points a gun at the bully and says:  "You've got seven seconds to tell me you're going to stop beating that kid up.  And thirty seconds to take all those weapons off your body.  If you don't, I'll shoot you!  And I don't care what these other people who are watching think.  You're a menace to society.  You're a bully.  A tyrant.  A threat to all the neighborhood's children."

         Parents of Vigilance don't wait for a consensus.  Sheep wait.  Vigilant people do not.
        Vigilant people see the danger of Terrorism at face value.   They don't need expert witnesses to confirm a bully's Terroristic nature.  
          When Saddam Hussein killed up to 50,000 of his own people (Kurds) with poison gas that indiscriminately took the lives of women and children and other non-combatants, he sent a signal to the world that he is capable of doing the same to anyone at anytime if provoked enough.
        When a parent doesn't blink an eye when he or she kills his or her own children, we call the act heinous.  We send the accused to the gas chamber.   We become outraged at the abuse of power over the innocent, the helpless, the vulnerable.
        Critics of the U.S. stand against Terrorism comprise the crowd who stands and watches the bully beating on the child.   They get angry and upset over someone who steps in and takes charge of the situation because "they" believe consensus is more important than individual action.   While they think and argue what is the right thing to do, the bully beats and maims his victim with impunity.

        America's demand for the seven day Pledge is a doorstop to Terrorism.  It demands the bully admit he is a bully, and to agree to de-bullyize himself.
        In these following seven days, the  test of Saddam Hussein's willingness to comply will offer the world evidence that he is or isn't a Parent of Vigilance.   If he is a Father of Vigilance, he will surrender his will to the world.   He will comply, if not for himself, for the children of Iraq.
        But, if he is a Beast of Terror, he will refuse.  He will risk the lives of his countrymen and countrywomen and their families to support his own egotistical desire to maintain tyrant status.   Some bullies, regretfully,  have to be shot to get them to stop beating on others.  
        In law, the right to use lethal force against another is based on the aggressor using lethal force against you.   Someone threatening your life can be killed in self-defense.  The only requirement is proof the person used lethal force.   A woman, for example, being raped can kill her assailant under the defense of self-defense because rape is considered a "lethal weapon" crime.  Self defense has various degrees.

         If Saddam Hussein refuses to disclose his weapons, he is cocking the hammer on his lethal weapons.  He is drawing his six-gun.  He is authorizing lethal force in self defense.  He is raping his land.
        While I would hate to see America go to war in Iraq, and shudder at the idea of our young men and women forced to "kill or be killed," I understand and am proud that America displayed the Courage, Conviction and is willing to take the Right Action to send the Global Beasts of Terror a tough message--"we will not stand for the threats you impose upon our children, or other nation's children."
        I have advocated since September 11, 2001, that the world stands at the threshold of the Era of Vigilance.  
        The Era of Vigilance is a historic debarkation from the prior sovereignty of the world in which any leader could do what he or she pleased within his or her borders.   Under the Era of Complacency, other nations turned their heads to the wanton destruction of masses of citizens, fearful any infringement upon such countries might backfire and set a precedent that would impinge their own sovereignty.
         This has been a selfish global policy.
         It has allowed tyrants in nations to seize power and act with abandon over their people under the belief that any parent has the right to do what he or she wants in their own home, including the molestation, rape and plunder of the citizenry.  Or, in the manufacture and proliferation of Terrorism against others.
         The Era of Complacency is over.  Well, it has Seven Days of Life.  Then it will be dead.    

         George W. Bush is leading the charge to force the leaders of the world to establish new moral and ethical boundaries for all nations--specifically, that any leader who uses Terrorism as tool of government becomes a threat to all--especially to the children and their children's children..
         Essentially, he's become President of the Parents Teachers Association.  He's calling upon the "parenthood" of leaders, not their "political-hoodness," to act in behalf of world security.
          The Era of Vigilance requires each of us to examine our vows against Terrorism as well as those around the globe..
          As we force Saddam Hussein to declare in seven days his intent to become a "Leader of Vigilance" rather than a "Despot of Terrorism," we need to ask ourselves:  "What vow have I taken to disarm my Beast of Terror?   What am I doing to stop Terrorism's growth in my house?  In my mind?  In my actions and deeds within my home?  My nation/state?"
           Most of us, like Saddam Hussein, will deny we are Terrorists.  I'm sure in Saddam's thinking, he sees himself as "liberator" rather than a "tyrant."   I'm sure he believes he is doing the "right thing" by arming his country with weapons he can use to stave off any attacks, and to counterbalance any threats to his sovereignty.    I'm sure also that Hitler thought he was right, and that he believed it was a divine order that Germany rule the world, no matter what the cost.

       I'm also sure that a parent here in America who is frustrated with life and snaps at his or her children, or is too busy trying to "make ends meet" that he or she doesn't have time to spend with the kids, believes he or she is a "good parent."   I'm sure that people who have nice homes, and buy their kids nice things, and send them to nice schools, but don't sit and talk with them about their Fears, Intimidations and Complacencies, or share theirs with the child, think they are being "good parents."    I also believe that parents who abuse their children believe they have a right to do so because they are the parent.
         But that's all coming to an end.  Everyone has Seven Days to comply, not just Saddam Hussein.
         Why this deadline?   Why upset the sovereign right of parents to do what they want with their children?  To have the freedom to rule as the wish under their own roof?   Perhaps the answer is that we have mistakenly assumed the right of the parent over the child.  Perhaps what is happening in Iraq is an example of the shift from parental rights to children rights.
         Let's see.
         What if parental rights do not belong to parents.  What if parental rights truly belong to the children.   The old idea a leader of a nation has a right to seek his or her own agenda at the expense of its citizens--specifically the children of that nation--is perhaps erroneous.
         Ethically and morally, leaders have only one right--to protect the children of their nation from Terrorism--emotional Terrorism, physical Terrorism, financial Terrorism, spiritual Terrorism.   Protecting the prosperity and opportunity of children is the primary mission of all parents--whether they are human or creatures.   A mother bear will fight to the death to protect her young.   Ever try to disrupt a mocking bird's nest?   The birds will spear you to death with their sharp beaks.
        There is a huge difference between the rights of an adult and the rights of a child.   A child has no choice but to follow the adult's lead.   If the adult chooses a path that leads to abuse, endangerment, or risk to the child, the adult is liable for "child neglect."

      Children's rights then rule adult behavior.  Unfortunately, a children's rights are not managed and monitored as adult rights are, for a child is placed under the protection of its parent until it reaches a legal age.   The false assumption that parents have the right to do what they want in raising their child has been a misnomer.
        Parents have a duty not a right to raise a child in a state of Vigilance.
        Parents are wards of the children, not their dictators, not their despots.
        Parents are the teachers, the role models for the future of the world.
        The Era of Vigilance is all about reversing the policy of sovereignty of leadership from parental management of children, to children's management of parents.
        The Seven Day Deadline imposed on Saddam Hussein is all about him surrendering his personal despotic and tyrannical rule back to the children of Iraq.    By vowing to disarm, Hussein is elevating the safety and security of the children of his country above his own.
         This may an impossibility for him to do.   If he is too selfish, too entrenched in his own false belief that he is "in charge," he may well challenge the demand and die in the process, taking with him countless thousands of innocent people with him.
          In a similar way, many people will look at the Pledge of Vigilance and pass it off as something for someone who "needs it."   Many people will think they are the "best parents," and that they don't have time for all that "nonsense" about sharing their Fears, Intimidations and Complacencies with their children or loved ones.   They may think they have "parental rights" that ignore their duty to seek out the Beast of Terror within themselves and their children and neutralize it with Courage, Confidence and Right Actions.
          But that's not true.
          If a parent doesn't know a child's Fear, Intimidations and Complacencies, the parent doesn't know the child.  The child knows this.   For in a child's heart is a thirst to be loved unconditionally.  And to be loved unconditionally means a parent must love a child's nightmares as well as his or her dreams.   Love is about caring for a child's inner self, and children's inner selves are in constant battle with their Beast of Terror that makes them wonder: "Am I loved?  Am I accepted?  Am I smart enough?  Am I pretty enough?  Rich enough?  Am I important to my parents?   Do they really care about me?  How come they don't hug me?  How come they don't tell me they love me?  How come they ignore me?  How come they laugh at me?  How come they love my brother or sister more?"

      All children live in Fear of Rejection, Intimidation of Others, and Complacency that they are powerless over numerous things.   The test of this is your own memories as a child.   When one thinks back to his or own childhood, how many Beasts of Terror roamed in your thoughts?   How many of them did your parents help you neutralize?   How many times did your parents crawl inside your Fears, Intimidations and Complacencies with you and shine the light of Vigilance upon them, helping you muster the Courage, Conviction and take the Right Actions to disarm them?
          The Pledge of Vigilance is a reminder to parents and loved ones that our duty as Citizens of Vigilance is to disarm Terrorism.  It begins at home. 
         So while we may look at the Seven Days Hussein has to comply with the U.N. Resolution, we might well think how many days we will give ourselves to take the Pledge of Vigilance and vow to improve our own worlds by disarming our Beasts of Terror.
         To start, you just might download and Pledge of Vigilance and read it carefully.  As you do, ask yourself this question:  "Had my parents followed these guidelines, would my life have been more Vigilant?"