America vs Iraq

Every American has a right to an opinion whether or not America should start a war with Iraq. The issue is “Why go to war?”, not “Why not go to war?”. Every American's right to oppose a pro-war policy is being rendered meaningless by President Bush and his advisors' refusal to listen and respond to anti-war protestors. President Bush and his advisers are turning American apple pie into applesauce and there are a few bad apples in the mix.

To use weapons of mass destruction to eliminate a threat of use of weapons of mass destruction does not make sense. A war would be the most expensive way, but is not the only way, to disarm Iraq. The economic cost of a war would be tremendous, but it would be minimal compared to the social and political costs. Perhaps the greatest costs of all will be the loss of opportunities to use the resources required for a military buildup and deployment for peaceful purposes.

How did the position of the President change from, "We must prepare to use military force as a deterrent, even though we have not yet decided whether to use that force." to "We must go to war sooner or later, and the sooner the better."?

The Bush administration made several unconvincing explanations of the need to attack Iraq. Self defense is obviously not a valid reason. A preemptive strike is not a defensive act. Not only is Iraq not presently threatening the United States, starting a war will create a real danger of counter attacks. Initially the goal was to disarm Iraq. Now despite there being no proof Iraq has weapons of mass destruction, the goal has changed to removing Saddam Hussein from power.

The latest explanation of the need for war, to make peace in the Middle East, is the scariest one of all. The Bush administration has no credibility on which to base this claim. While there is no loftier goal than World Peace, it is hard to believe anyone would think that America can create global peace by starting a war. More likely is that World War III will result. Obviously the goal of World Peace is an afterthought being raised to try and defend an unreasonable decision to start a war. Vision should come before decision.