Why We Should Fight Iraq

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Why We Should Fight Iraq
by J. Edward Tremlett, Columnist

March 10, 2003

"Down On the rANT Farm"

J. Edward Tremlett Judging from the anti-war protests that occurred recently, there are a lot of people - all around the world - who do not want an attack on Iraq. I can respect their decision, even if I cannot agree with it.

But I think they should reconsider their reasons for opposing this war, and understand what is really at stake in this matter.

This isn't about oil. We've got access to as much as we need. And even if we did need more, there are better, less costly ways to get it.

This isn't about making an "American Empire.?We don't want one. What would we do with it?

And this isn't about attacking Islam, either. Many islamophobic loudmouths notwithstanding, the Bush Administration knows the difference between dangerous zealots and peaceful Muslims. Besides, Saddam Hussein is also an "infidel,?don't forget.

What this IS about is preventing another disaster from striking America, or her allies, somewhere down the road.

This means that we are going to have to engage in preemptive conflicts in the time to come. While I can see that power being misused, and remain wary of its becoming a legitimate option, I can't completely rule it out.

And I think that in the case of Saddam Hussein's Iraq, it is justified.

After September 11th, a lot of time was spent asking a very good question: "why didn't we see this coming??Why didn't we know 9/11 was going to happen before it did? How had we missed out on the threat that Osama bin-Laden and the Al-Queda network presented to us?

That question begs another - what WOULD we have done if we'd known, ahead of time, that Al-Queda was seriously planning to do us harm?

Would we have sat back and done nothing, waiting for something to happen so we could then retaliate in good faith? Or would we have charged into Afghanistan BEFORE they could do anything, thus sparing thousands of lives from being taken in terrorist attacks?

I like to think we'd have charged, and I would have supported that action if all the facts had been given to me.

Is Saddam Hussein planning to do harm to us, or our allies? We can't see into the future, of course, so the best evidence we have with which to answer that question is to ask what has he done - and what he hasn't done - before now.

Discounting the torture and brutality towards his own people, Saddam's actions towards others reveal him to be a warlike man. He's had a long war with one neighbor and invaded another outright. He launched missiles at Israel and poison gas at Kurds. And let's not forget that he tried to have a former President assassinated.

That's not a sterling record, to say the least.

So what would a warlike man do with WMDs? Chances are good that he'd use them. Chances are also good that he'd use them on America, or her allies. And if he can't do it himself, because he's being watched too closely, then there's a good chance he'll give those weapons to someone else to use - on us.

And this is the reason why we forced him to end his WMD development programs, and destroy what WMDs he had, as part of the cease-fire agreement in 1991. Letting this man have ordinary weapons, and then reign unchecked, is a recipe for disaster. Letting this man develop WMDs is an even more dangerous recipe.

Note that, as the recent inspections have shown, he has not done any of these things. Also note that he has been very reluctant to be completely open with the inspectors, and that when ordered to destroy missiles that were found to be in violation of the agreements, his government is balking.

So we have a warlike man on the throne in Baghdad. He has no accountability to his own people, no accountability with his neighbors and no accountability with the world at large. Maybe he really wouldn't use those WMDs against his own people or his neighbors; Maybe he really would just sit on them and only use them if they're used against him first, by, say, Bahrain.

But do you feel confident in taking that chance? Are you willing to bet your life on it?

I don't, quite frankly. And that's why I'm in support of a military campaign against Saddam Hussein's government in Iraq.

I realize it is not going to be a picnic or a party, and I have nothing but scorn for those who are going to treat it as such. But sometimes there is no option but to remove dangerous people before they do the unthinkable to the undeserving. This costs lives, but it will also save them. Maybe even yours.

Don't yell slogans at me. Just think about it. ***

J. Edward Tremlett is a published author, political thinker and self-described "mean-spirited crank." He lives with his wife and two cats in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Photo of J. Edward Tremlett courtesy of staff files