Our
view
Preemptive
action not wise
The question of whether the United States
will go to war against Iraq has been continuously
in the news for the past year with many
changes occurring, but war has not yet been
declared.
In June, President Bush proposed that Americans
not wait to be attacked, but rather be ready
to take “preemptive action” to protect ourselves
against the threat of Saddam Hussein’s weapons.
Proponents of going to war with Iraq, and
using “preemptive action,” believe that
America has already waited too long, and
given Hussein too many chances. Many see
Hussein’s initial restriction of the weapons
inspectors as a convincing enough reason
to distrust him and head to war.
A resolution agreed upon Wednesday gives
Bush expansive power to use military force
to “defend the national security interests
of the United States against the continuing
threat posed by Iraq,” and to “enforce all
relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions
regarding Iraq” as he sees fit.
Bush’s promise to deal with Hussein diplomatically,
if possible, but militarily if necessary,
is clearly a meaningless pledge. His purpose
is to convince Americans that all that can
be done has been done to avoid war. If Bush
succeeds in convincing at least a majority
of the nation of this, then he will possibly
avoid some of the criticism against him
that will follow a war against Iraq.
Ultimately, a “preemptive” war with Iraq
would not be in our nation’s best interests.
Hussein is seen as an undisputed menace
throughout most of the world. However, the
fact that practically no one else in the
world supports America in going to war with
Iraq should tell us something.
Furthermore, as the Associated Press reported,
a full-scale war with Iraq would cost up
to $9 billion a month not including the
billions of dollars it would cost to bring
military troops back home.
If America succeeded in conquering Hussein
and removing him from Iraq, we would then
have to occupy and govern the country for
who knows how long. Leading to yet another
costly undertaking.
And still there is the argument that Bush
desires to wage war against Iraq merely
to finish what his father started, to seek
revenge and punish Hussein for the Gulf
War.
An examination of the issues surrounding
the question of going to war with Iraq leads
to the conclusion that “preemptive action”
is not going to solve any problems but will
only create more, put us into debt and possibly
cause a loss of the support of European
and Middle Eastern countries.
The consequences of a war with Iraq are
too high.
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