In the September 9 issue of The Varsity, Dan Maloy condemned a US invasion of Iraq as another “colonial war,” and labelled the United States a terrorist nation. Poignant as such imagery is, Maloy has totally misunderstood the situation, and why the war America is about to wage is not only necessary but entirely justifiable.
As Maloy’s piece demonstrates, in much of the world, and even among Americans, righteous anger is growing at George Bush’s slow but remorseless campaign to remove Saddam Hussein from power. The arguments against Mr. Bush’s plans seem appealing, but Iraq is no banana republic, and Mr. Hussein is no tinpot despot. The threat to the world that he represents is real and grows more deadly with every hour. Through unfettered use of violence, he has seized control of a technologically advanced country with vast oil reserves and murdered all his political opponents along the way. To keep the Kurdish minority submissive, he razed their homes and deployed poison gas. He invaded Iran in 1979, starting an eight-year war that resulted in over a million deaths. In 1990, his unabated lust for power and territory led him to invade Kuwait. After the American-led coalition forced him out, he fired missiles into Tel Aviv, hoping to provoke a potentially cataclysmic Arab-Israeli war.
When I hear anyone suggest America is acting out of self-interest alone, I ask them to consider all of the above. If history is any guide, it is safe to say Mr. Hussein is not likely to cease his murderous ambitions anytime soon. Indeed, Iraq’s unique danger is that it has both chemical and biological weapons, and all evidence suggests it is on the brink of developing nuclear capability. Iraq continues to construct weapons of mass destruction in contravention of its treaty obligations, and Hussein has literally preferred to starve his own people than give up his appetite for them. It is hardly unfair for the United States to legitimately ask if such weapons would be used against its citizens, as Mr. Hussein is one of their openly sworn enemies.
While terrorist connections to Iraq have yet to be proven, it is not hard to imagine Mr. Hussein delivering chemical, biological, or even nuclear weapons to an organization eager to use them inside the United States.
Therein lies the truth that many of Bush’s critics refuse to accept. Iraq is not a poor, angry country because of the way the West treats it. It is poor and isolated because of Mr. Hussein’s horrible dictatorship.
Some would still argue a war is too dangerous and it is better to keep Mr. Hussein caged in his box. But that box is now too full of holes: containment has failed.
This is why Tony Blair supports Mr. Bush now, and why his list of allies will soon grow. There is no more waiting for Mr. Hussein to change his ways—he simply will not. It is time for America and the world to summon up the courage to do what is right, despite the cost it may bring. The alternative is simply no longer acceptable.
