Justifying the War in Iraq

WorldThreats.com ^ | July 26, 2004 | Raymond Brown

[Blindboy16]

Justifying the War in Iraq Raymond Brown - May 4, 2004 Bowbe4me11@aol.com

Following the events of September 11th, America found herself in awe and shock. Americans watched the smoke rise from the Twin Towers as people jumped from the building out of desperation and plummeted to their death. With the fall of the towers, American life changed forever. America was attacked on her own soil for the second time, the first being the invasion of Pearl Harbor. America now found herself at war with a new enemy, one that wears no uniform, that has no country of origin, but is just as deadly. On January 29,2002 President Bush gave his State of the Union Address. He made it clear that those who committed such attacks, along with those who aided, or will aid future attacks would be considered enemies of the United States and will be dealt with.

War with Iraq was inevitable and I support it for the following reasons. First, during Saddam's reign of terror, he produced and used chemical and biological weapons. Second, the United States and the international community made every diplomatic attempt to stabilize the region and eliminate the dangers posed by Saddam Hussein; and finally, he and his regime supported international terrorism.

Critics of Bush's administration, along with members of the media, have said that we were misled by the President since we did not find large "stockpiles" of WMD's (Weapons of Mass Destruction). Kenneth Timmerman, a senior writer and author who has been tracking terrorists for twenty years, stated in a Worldnet Daily article, dated April 26, 2004, "New evidence out of Iraq suggests the U.S. effort to track down Saddam Hussein's missing weapons of mass destruction is having better success than is being reported."

He continues, "but this stunning news has received little attention from the major media, and the President's critics continue to insist that ‘no weapons' have been found." Charles Duelfer, a former State Department official and deputy chief of the U.N., led arms inspection teams and his predecessor David Kay found a secret network of laboratories and safe houses with equipment to produce chemical and biological weapons. They also found a prison with laboratories that may have been test sites on human beings. Why would Saddam be testing CW's (Chemical weapons) on humans unless he had a weapons program?

Also discovered was equipment for "uranium-enrichment centrifuges" the only possible use for which was to develop secret nuclear weapons. According to Timmerman, "When former weapons inspector Kay reported to Congress in January that the United States had found ‘no stockpiles' of forbidden weapons in Iraq, his conclusion made front-page news. But when he detailed what the ISG (Iraq Survey Group) had found in testimony before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence last October, few took notice."

Kay's discoveries included that Saddam did not declare the fact that he had been working on developing BW's such as brucella and Congo-Crimean hemorrhagic fever, continuing work on ricin, and aflatoxin. In addition, Iraq was developing and testing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV's) with a range of 500-km. No doubt, these UAV's were to be used to deliver his chemical and biological weapons.

Saddam also continued his secret operations to produce fuel propellant that's only purpose was for his scud missiles. Plans for the developing of missiles with a 1000-km range were also found. At that range, Iraq could target cities throughout the Middle East, Turkey, and Cairo. Finally, Iraqi scientists as well as a number of seized documents revealed attempts made by Iraq to acquire North Korean technology in order to obtain ballistic missiles with a range of 1300-km. According to Timmerman, "Until now, Bush's critics say, no stockpiles of CW agents made with those precursors have been found. The snap conclusion they draw is that the administration ‘lied' to the American people to create a pretext for invading Iraq but what are ‘stockpiles' of CW agents supposed to look like? Was anyone seriously expecting Saddam to have left behind freshly painted warehouses packed with chemical munitions, all neatly laid out in serried rows, with labels written in English?"

In fact, many of these stockpiles were found. In Fallujah, a giant plant was producing chlorine which is used for making mustard gas. A number of the warehouses and plants were set up to appear to be producing pesticides and agricultural chemicals. In reality, their purpose was to produce CW's and BW's. American soldiers often found 55-gallon drums containing "pesticides" in camouflage bunkers 6 feet underground and always near military ammunition depots. In a military weapons complex located in Taji, American combat units found more "pesticides" stockpiled in 55-gallon drums. Were these BW's or were the Iraqi soldiers, as Timmerman states, "obsessed with keeping ammo dumps insect-free?" Timmerman concludes, "The Iraqis admitted they had made 3.9 tons of VX, a powerful nerve gas, but claimed they had never weaponized it. The UN inspectors felt they had more. But where did it go?"

Iraq still has never explained what happened to these weapons. Saddam had already used WMD's against his own people when he attacked the Kurds, killing thousands of them. Iraq also used chemical weapons in their war against Iran.

Initiating war is always a last resort. Every diplomatic attempt must be made before taking such a drastic step. The United States and the world community made every effort to use diplomacy. Saddam Hussein refused to respond to numerous negotiations and, therefore, forced the United States to go to war.

At the end of the first Gulf War, Saddam Hussein agreed to comply with the UN sanctioned peace terms. By doing so, he agreed to dismantle and destroy all weapons and facilities of WMD's. He agreed to a no fly zone protecting Shiites in the southern half of Iraq. He also agreed to allow full inspections so that UN inspectors could monitor compliance. However, planes patrolling the no fly zone were regularly targeted and shot at by Saddam's army. From the beginning, Saddam has played a shell game with the inspectors restricting them to certain sites.

According to Frank Gaffney Jr., "Defectors have revealed that his covert program is so far advanced technologically that the only thing preventing Saddam from having a fully functional nuclear weapons is access to sufficient quantities of tissue material." Because of Saddam's refusal to comply with the sanctions, UN inspectors left Iraq in 1998.

Before the second invasion of Iraq, the world community, with the blessings of the United Nations, tried to force Saddam to comply with the cease-fire agreement by imposing sanctions on Iraq. These sanctions did not work because Saddam found a way to swindle the "oil-for-food" program. The program, which was set up under tight UN supervision, was established in order to finance the purchase of much needed goods for humanitarian needs. On April 20, 2004, ABC posted a news article written by Brian Ross on their web site. In it Ross stated, "One year after his fall, U.S. officials say they have evidence, some in cash, that Saddam diverted to his personal bank accounts approximately $5 billion from the United Nations Oil-for-Food program."

The article also states that at least three senior UN officials were suspected of taking multi-million dollar bribes. In order to sway world opinion, Saddam used oil contracts for political support. The following nations received the most consideration: (amounts are in millions of barrels of oil) As cited by Timmerman, "Russia: The Companies of the Russian Communist Party: 137 million. The Companies of the Liberal Democratic Party: 79.8 million. The Russian Committee for Solidarity with Iraq: 6.5 million and 12.5 million. Head of the Russian Presidential Cabinet: 90 million. The Russian Orthodox Church: 5 million. France: Charles Pasqua, former minister of interior: 12 million. Trafigura (Patrick Maugein), businessman: 25 million. Ibex: 47.2 million. Bernard Merimee, a former French ambassador to the United Nations: 3 million. Michel Grimarid, a founder of the French-Iraqi Export Club: 17.1 million." French President Jacque Chirac had a lot to lose if Saddam were to be defeated. As stated by Timmerman, "Maugein's involvement in the U.N.-approved oil deals is significant, investigators say, because he is believed to be a conduit for the backdoor payments to Chirac and his family. It was Chirac who spearheaded a worldwide coalition last year that opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and tried desperately to keep Saddam in power."

No wonder France and Russia opposed the United Nations resolutions to act against Saddam. Their personal interests were at risk.

Many in the United States have charged that the sanctions against Iraq only hurt the Iraqi people. It is true that the Iraqi people have suffered. However, the millions of dollars given to Saddam from Russia and France with UN approval could have alleviated a lot of suffering.

In my opinion, after 17 resolutions that promised serious consequences if Iraq did not make a complete disclosure of its weapons program, the use of force was necessary. Saddam refused to live up to the agreements that he made following the Gulf War. The United States tried every diplomatic effort to maintain peace in Iraq and the entire Middle East region. Saddam defied the world and left us with no choice but to force him to comply.

My final reason for supporting the war in Iraq is that Saddam directly or indirectly aided international terrorism. Richard Miniter, author of "Losing Bin Laden: How Bill Clinton's failures Unleashed Global Terror" which is now on the New York Times' best seller list, states some of the following points which connects Iraq with Al Qaeda. First, Bin Laden met at least eight times with officers of Iraq's secret police agency run by Saddam's son Qusay. Second, Sudan intelligence officials had observed meetings between Iraqi agents and Bin Laden starting in 1994. Third Iraqi defector Abu Mohammed saw Bin Laden's fighters in camps in Iraq in 1997. The fourth and most "Compelling reason for bin Laden to work with Saddam is money. Al Qaeda operatives have testified in federal courts that the terror network was always desperate for cash. Bin Laden's personal wealth alone simply is not enough to support a profligate global organization. So a common enemy, a shared goal and powerful need for cash seem to have forged an alliance between Saddam and bin Laden" (Miniter 232-233).

This disturbing yet compelling evidence is the reason it is important to remember why we fight in Iraq and who we are fighting. No one can deny—the cost of the Iraqi war is great in dollars and in lives. Every death is a great loss whether it is civilian or military. The estimate of 9 to 10 thousand civilian lives lost in Iraq is a tragedy. However, the loss of 3,000 innocent American civilians in one attack on the World Trade Center is also a terrible tragedy. If we do not deal with the terrorists and those who promote terrorism, how many more innocent people will have to die? How many would die if a "dirty bomb" exploded in New York, Los Angeles, or Chicago?

Up to now it is estimated that $112 billion dollars have been spent on the Iraqi war. In my opinion, the money was well spent. How can we put a price tag on the freedom citizens of Iraq now enjoy? Thanks to US coalition forces, Iraqi people are now allowed to operate a free press, children can attend school, and women do not have to worry about being raped by Saddam's henchmen.

I believe that, the war in Iraq is justifiable in order to eliminate further proliferation of WMD's, end global terrorism, and to promote stability in the Middle East. According to reports by the State Department, we are seeing results already. Terrorism has dropped 45% since 2001. Last years total are the lowest internationally in 35 years. Not engaging in the fight against terror would further embolden our enemies to continue their attacks on us. James Schlesinger reminds us in a Wall Street Journal article dated April 22, 2004, "I recommend a re-reading of Osama Bin Laden's "Declaration of War Against the Americans." In it Bin Laden states,"When tens of your soldiers were killed in minor battles and one American Pilot dragged in the street of Mogadishu, you left the area in disappointment, humiliation and defeat, carrying your dead with you. Clinton appeared in front of the whole world threatening and promising revenge, but these threats were merely a preparation for withdrawal. You had been disgraced by Allah and you withdrew; the extent of your impotence and weakness became very clear."

We have responded to such mockery and I am glad we did.

Works Cited Gaffney, Frank J. Jr. "Should Iraq be Next Target for the U.S.?" Insight on the News. 6 May 2003: PP 40-44 Miniter, Richard. "Losing Bin Laden." Washington DC: Regnery Publishing, INC., 2003. Ross, Brian. "Monumental Rip-Off?" ABC News 20 April 2004: http://abcnews.go.com. 4 May 2004. Schlesinger, James. "The Strong Horse?" The Wall Street Journal: 22 April 200: A18. Timmerman, Kenneth R. "Probe to blow lid off massive UN scandal." Worldnet Daily: 15 April 2004: http://www.worldnetdaily.com. 2 May 2004. Timmerman, Kenneth R. "Saddam's WMD have been found." Worldnet Daily: 15 April 2004: http://www.worldnetdaily.com. 2 May 2004. "Terrorisim dropped 45 % since 2001." Worldnet Daily. 1 May 2004 http://worldnetdaily.com. 5 May 2004

[Blindboy16]

Please send feedback to Mr. Brown at Bowbe4me11@aol.com. He is a 19-year old college student very interested in these subjects.