COUNTERPOINT: Much ado about Iraq
On every editorial page across the world, the favorite game right now is second-guessing. Everyone wants to know what will happen in the tug of war between the United States in its efforts to disarm Saddam Hussein, and the Franco-German Alliance that is intent on stopping any form of military action.
It makes sense that when a nation contemplates war, it should know why it is going. War is a serious thing with serious consequences, and is not something to be entered into lightly. However, when the cause is just and the reasons are good enough, war can be the best option.
Time and time again the Bush administration has made the case to go to war with Iraq. I enjoy listening to President Bush speak, but I am tired of having to listen to the case for war with Iraq. The case has been made completely and thoroughly, and it is becoming clearer every day that war is the only option that will solve the Iraqi problem.
The intent of the slurry of resolutions that the United Nations has passed over the last 12 years with regard to Iraq has been disarmament. These resolutions have required Saddam Hussein to disarm, and to stop trying to acquire weapons of mass destruction.
Inspectors have been sent in to verify his compliance with these resolutions and have shown that he has not complied. He has done everything within his power to avoid it. To this very day he follows a strategy of cheat and retreat, holding out as long as possible and then placating the world with a small concession. This is not how disarmament will be achieved.
Saddam Hussein is a menace to the United States, his own people, and the world. He has been given 12 years to disarm, to comply and to behave, and he has consistently demonstrated unwillingness to do these things. He taunts the world to the edge of war, and then with a smile and a few rifle shots into the air, he slips away into the desert, hiding behind more inspections or pleas for more time. When is enough, enough?
How long will the world let the butcher of Baghdad get away? How long will we sit idly by and do nothing while this snake slithers in the desert? Every year Saddam Hussein is in power we risk a repeat of the horrific terrorist attacks that we suffered on Sept. 11, 2001.
What happens when the tons of VX poison gas or Anthrax spores that he has admitted developing wind up on a subway in New York? He has not been able to account for the destruction of this material, and the inspectors can’t find it. The safest way to avoid this (if it can be avoided) is to get rid of Hussein and find out just exactly where this stuff is, and destroy it.
The terrorist’s greatest weapon is complacency. As time passes and memory begins to fade, America goes back to normal. It suddenly doesn’t seem so necessary for the United States to use its military might to prevent and deter further terrorist strikes.
America becomes complacent, and while we send the United Nations to play cat and mouse with Saddam, he will continue to endanger American lives.
Gabe White is a senior majoring in political science. Comments can be sent to gkw@cc.usu.edu.