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Part 7

Iraq & A Hard Place Part 6 - 

The Iraqi Menace

23, 2003 42: AM CST

Saddam Hussein’s regime is a menace to the entire civilized world. He has been brutally oppressive to his own peoples. He has led wars of aggression against his neighbors. His regime is a known state sponsor of terrorism. He has had weapons of mass destruction, and has shown a willingness to use them. He probably still has them; he is certainly seeking more. Removing him from power is in the best interests of the world, not just the United States.

Iraq has a horrendous human rights record. The people do not have the right to free speech, or to peacefully change their government. Saddam’s regime systematically tortures political dissidents. The regime has been brutally oppressive towards minority ethnic groups. The rule of law is often arbitrary and avoids any judicial system. Prison conditions are terrible. He has used chemical weapons against ethnic minorities within his own country during a military campaign described by some as genocide. Removing Saddam would be in the best interests of his own people.

Saddam Hussein has started two wars of aggression against his neighbors. In 1980, Iraq tried to seize the Shatt al Arab waterway from Iran. The result was the eight year Iran-Iraq war, during which Saddam’s armies used chemical weapons against his Iranian opponents. In 1990, he invaded Kuwait. Iraq’s occupation of Kuwait was particularly brutal. Kuwaiti civil rights were routinely violated; among other horrors, Kuwaitis were tortured, executed, and raped. Removing Saddam would be in the best interests of his neighbors.

Iraq has been, and still is, a state sponsor of terrorism. In 1993, Iraq plotted to assassinate former president George H. W. Bush. The Iraqi Intelligence Service has assassinated expatriate political dissidents, and imprisoned and otherwise harassed their families back in Iraq. Iraq has granted political asylum to airline hijackers, disregarding international law. At least four terrorist groups maintain offices in Baghdad. Iraq has supported Mujahedin-e Khalq, a terrorist group that has led armed incursions into Iran. And Saddam’s government routinely sends payments to the families of Hamas suicide bombers. Removing Saddam would be in the best interests of ordinary citizens who live in fear of terror attacks.

Saddam’s regime has had weapons of mass destruction, and has proven willing to use them. Iraq has produced nearly half a million liters of chemical weapons, including mustard gas, VX, tabun, and sarin. These agents have been used to kill over 20,000 of Iraq’s own civilians and a similar number of Iranians. Saddam has also produced thousands of liters of biological agents, including anthrax, botulinum toxin, aflatoxin, and ricin. Inspections after the 1991 Persian Gulf War determined that before the war began Iraq had been within six months of producing a working nuclear weapon.

Iraq very likely still has some of these weapons. I, for one, found Colin Powell’s case before the United Nations to be very convincing. My best guess is that his evidence was somewhere between one and ten percent of what US intelligence has actually gathered – probably on the lower side of that. That leaves me with little doubt that Saddam still has these weapons, and is doing everything he can to keep them. Inspectors or not, nobody who has watched the news over the past decade can reasonably conclude that he is no longer seeking more of them. The world will be better off if these weapons are taken out of the hands of a ruthless murderer.

Part 7