| Subject: Misdirected US Foreign Policy |
Author:
Mike
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Date Posted: 00:19:23 03/05/03 Wed
I have recently been searching for a place to express my views on Iraq and this seems to be an appropriate area. I am very troubled that the Bush administration is so focused on military intervention in Iraq. First of all, if the United States does attack Iraq it will be a war of preemption. This whole idea of invading a country when unprovoked violates American ideals. Further, war should only be used as a last resort and at the present time we are not at that point. The United States has not exhausted all diplomatic options. Currently the UN weapons inspectors are curtailing and containing the development of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). This thus brings us to the crux of matter. What the Bush administration does not realize is that Saddam Hussein can be contained and deterred. Events in history clearly suggest this ability to control Hussein. In 1993 he stopped interfering with UN inspectors after increased and more vigorous inspections. That therefore is the answer today. The number of inspectors in Iraq must be raised and increased U-2 over flights must occur. This increased inspection presence will further deter and contain Hussein. Some people falsely believe that Saddam will give weapons to terrorist. This shows a clear ignorance to Iraq's reasoning for acquiring weapons. The first WMD programs for Iraq were initiated due to the development of nuclear weapons in Israel (who has yet to declare such arms). Therefore Iraqi weapons are defensive in nature. Defensive weapons such as these are developed by rogue nations for one main purpose, to obtain diplomatic clout on the world stage. These dictators realize that upon using the weapons that gave them diplomatic power, not only the tangible object disappears but also the power that comes with it. To further understand this idea one must consider a hypothetical situation. If Saddam were to obtain a nuclear bomb and somehow bring it to the United States (which is virtually impossible considering the size that a preliminary nuclear bomb would be; it would be as large and cumbersome as the US nuclear weapons used on Japan: Little Boy and Fat Man) and this weapon was used then through its explosion Saddam's previous diplomatic power is destroyed. Further he would instigate a full scale US retaliation. Saddam understands these two ideas and therefore would refrain from using WMD or distributing such weapons to terrorists. The only time that these weapons would ever be used is in the event that Saddam is provoked. The war for regime change is certainly going to induce Saddam to use his weapons against US troops and Middle Eastern cities within range of his Scud Missiles. When Saddam sees his regime threatened through the war he will not hold anything back, and therefore use WMD. There is further no need for war in Iraq because the state does not currently pose an imminent threat. Much more dangerous problems are present through the unfinished war on terrorism and developments in North Korea. If Al Qaeda is strong enough to develop a threat that raises the security meter to Orange, then foreign policy must be focused on halting terrorism. (For those misled by Powell's dubious conjecture about the connection between terrorism and Iraq, you must realize that the administration consistently denied this idea only weeks before. Further in the unlikely case that a connection between the two groups developed, it would be as a result of recent events. The relationship would be catalyzed by the threat of war with Iraq that seems to unite the two sides against America.) Further, the United States faces a much more imminent threat from North Korea than from Iraq. North Korea likely contains one to two nuclear weapons according to intelligence agencies. Also, they have declared their resolve to develop highly enriched uranium nuclear weapons and are likely to develop weapons from spent uranium fuel rods (the rods are used to produce weapons grade plutonium). In addition according to CIA director George Tenet, North Korea's 3-stage Taepo Dong-2 Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) could reach the west coast of the US. To make matters worse North Korea is one of the principal exporters of military weapons. With a more developed nuclear weapons program they will sell their technology and thus cause proliferation throughout the entire world. (For those who think that this is the case for Iraq, they are mistaken because North Korea is facing an economic catastrophe that Iraq is not. In addition, North Korea has a long history of exporting military technology while Iraq does not). Therefore it is lucid that terrorists are able to obtain WMD from North Korea but not Iraq. The Bush administration needs to realize that the problem on the Korean peninsula is a crisis (which it continually refuses to say) and thus confront this problem before Iraq. If left on the backburner, the North Korean situation has the potential to spin out of control. Further it will convince other countries of the world that the way to become free of US intervention is through the development of nuclear weapons. Thus the refusal of the administration to have dialogue with North Korea is encouraging worldwide nuclear proliferation.
A war with Iraq would certainly cause more problems than it would prevent. When the bombs start falling the United States will have provoked the use of WMD by Saddam, possibly united terrorist factions with Iraq (who were previously very different entities), instigated and then ignored future terrorist attack plans, and overlooked imminent foreign policy threats from North Korea. Clearly, military intervention in Iraq would be a clear violation of proper foreign policy thinking. Bush is truly making the world a more dangerous place for Americans and the entire world community.
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