[ OUR OPINION ]

Lawmakers’ Iraq
resolution is embarrassing

THE ISSUE The state House has approved resolutions calling for "nonviolent solutions" to end the war in Iraq.

ALTERNATIVES to war in Iraq that were possible a month ago no longer exist, except in ridiculous resolutions approved on Thursday by Hawaii's House of Representatives. Using words written before the war in Iraq began, the House, with a majority of heads buried deep in the sand, is calling for "nonviolent solutions to the current crisis in Iraq."

What solutions does the House have in mind? The resolutions offer the prospect of resolving the crisis "through peaceful means, including mediation, diplomatic and economic pressure, and inspections," demonstrating "commitment to the spirit of aloha." Do the House members really believe President Bush, at this point, should invite Saddam Hussein to a summit to negotiate a peaceful settlement, including a return of weapons inspectors to Iraq?

In the context of the war now being waged in Iraq, the resolutions, to be sent to the White House and the state's congressional delegation, are nothing more than a rebuke to the commander in chief and a show of nonsupport for American troops. Trying to put a less offensive face on them would be futile.

Rep. Sol Kahoohalahala, a Maui Democrat, wrote the resolutions and introduced them on March 12, a week before U.S. troops fired the first shots in Iraq. The resolutions cited the "'peace of Kamalo'ohua,' named after a chief of Oahu who objected to the murder of another chief even during times of warfare" as "a precedent for securing peaceful endings to hostilities." They also cited Queen Liliuokalani's "deep aversion to warfare."

Those references were appropriate before the war in Iraq began, and before President Bush's 48-hour deadline for Hussein to accept exile to avoid military action. Any suggestion that the Bush administration -- in the middle of a war -- extend the aloha spirit to Hussein by emulating the "peace of Kamalo'ohua" or the peaceful inclinations of Hawaii's last monarch is wacky.

"I think sometimes the aloha spirit calls us to stand up in favor of defending the defenseless, getting involved," said Rep. David Pendleton, a Windward Oahu Republican who opposed the resolutions, "and sometimes that means using force to protect the rest of the world from a very, very bad person."

Rep. Kika Bukoski, a Maui Republican, added that reciprocity is needed for the aloha spirit to work, and Hussein does not understand the word.

Kahoohalahala's resolutions were reasonable when they were introduced. His failure to alter their content to reflect the drastically changed circumstances, or to simply withdraw the resolutions, demonstrated laziness. Votes cast by a majority of House members in favor of the outdated and inappropriate wording of the resolutions were a display of stupidity.