Our
View: Pending war with Iran harmful to
America
Despite
Iraq’s tumultuous political state
and the scandal and controversy the Bush
administration is currently mired in,
the administration seems undeterred in
its persistence to invade Iran. In the
April 17 issue of The New Yorker, famous
political journalist Seymour Hersh explores
the probability of a war with Iran.
Hersh, a Pulitzer Prize winner and acclaimed journalist, gained notoriety for
his exposé on the My Lai Massacre during the Vietnam War and the brutal
war crimes that occurred at Abu Ghraib prison. In his latest article, Hersh
said the Bush administration has pursued “clandestine activities inside
Iran and intensified planning for a possible major air attack.”
The possibility of another war while American soldiers remain in Iraq is not
only an imprudent decision, but it is an unethical one. According to “Stretched
Thin,” a book released in 2005 by the non-profit think tank the RAND
Corp. and written by Lynn Davis and J. Michael Polich, the U.S. Army is already
suffering from a lack of available, willing soldiers. Also, many soldiers remain
in Iraq and the possibility of a war in Iran would only put further strain
on the already precarious situation the Army faces.
Also, prices at the pump are increasing at a nearly exponential rate. Creating
turmoil in the Middle East, where most of the earth’s petroleum supply
lies, would be extremely costly.
Iran is the one of the largest crude oil and natural gas producing countries
in the world (second to Saudi Arabia in crude oil and Qatar in natural gas)
and a powerful contender in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC), which controls 40 percent of the world’s supply of oil. Attacking
Iran would undoubtedly have an immediate effect on American consumers, who
are already straining to pay the exorbitant prices of gasoline.
Aside from the immediate fallout an attack on Iran would have on American life,
a superfluous air strike on a country not yet an immediate threat is extremely
unethical and would likely cause a serious backlash among other Middle Eastern
countries and extremist organizations. Much of the evidence being used to justify
a war with Iran is still very sketchy and there still is not an adequate understanding
of the level of development of Iran’s nuclear program.
While Bush and his cronies may be eager to draw America’s attention away
from their misdeeds and failures as governmental leaders, the American public
should not be fooled by their attempts to distract us. While the government
may be trying to resurge the low public opinion of our leaders by creating
a rallying effect, the true problems facing our nation will not go away once
a war has begun.
The truth is, America is not ready for a war. War is extremely brutal and often
devastating. It deserves serious consideration and should be used only as a
last resort when diplomacy has failed.
While Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadi-Nejad may have recently made outlandish
claims rejecting all talks with U.S. representatives and vehemently declaring
the continuance of Iran’s nuclear research, all forms of diplomatically
resolving this dispute have not yet been expended. The United States needs
to carefully consider the repercussions of a war with Iran before Americans
commit their lives to this new cause.
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