The Apology

In the spirit of Iraq’s ‘acceptance’ of UNSC Resolution 1441 and their non-declaration of their banned weapons programs, Iraq’s Saddam Hussein has ‘apologized’ for invading Kuwait. Indeed, it is in the same spirit that a child, scolded for telling another child he is ugly, tells the offended party under pressure, "I’m sorry you’re ugly.’ (And wasn’t it only last August that the Iraqis celebrated the anniversary of their invasion by telling the Kuwaitis they ‘deserved’ the Iraqi invasion?)

According to the Iraqis, Saddam said, "We apologize to God for any action in the past . . . that was considered to be our responsibility, and we apologize to you on the same basis."

So get that, not that he thinks they did anything wrong by invading, looting, and brutalizing Kuwait, but they concede that some ‘consider’ some unnamed ‘actions’ to be their responsibility. And they apologize only because some consider those actions to be Iraq’s responsibility.

It’s like dealing with a naughty seven year old who’s holding a loaded shotgun. An amazing inability to accept responsibility in the real world on a reasonable basis combined with the ability to do great harm.

And of course, as with any insincere apology compelled by some authority figure, Saddam then attacks Kuwait. He blasts the Kuwaitis for hosting American troops and for letting us use Kuwait to enforce the no-fly zones. Of course, this is where Saddam unintentionally lets some truth out: "As you can see, the foreigners are occupying your country in a direct occupation," he said. "And, as you know, when the foreigners occupy a country, they don't only desecrate the soil, but also the soul, religion and mind." While our 12,000 or so personnel are there at the invitation of the government, Iraq’s couple-hundred thousand camped in Kuwait during their occupation following an uninvited invasion (unsanctified by the international community) truly did desecrate the soil, soul, religion, and mind.

The Kuwaitis rejected the apology.

To the French and the merely French-like, if some consider our actions to liberate Iraq and end the threat to the world of Saddam’s possession of weapons of mass destruction to require us to say we’re sorry, well, tough. You’ll get no apology from us. You’re the ones who need to explain yourselves. Man, I’m looking forward to seeing the Iraqi archives. Much like the opening up of the Soviet and satellite records after communism fell, only the most tenured (and their pampered trust fund Marxist students) in the West will be able to deny the horrors they defended before we defeat our enemy.

On to Baghdad.