President Bush now seems hell-bent on a plan that could easily lead to a nuclear strike against America – a strike that could cause a disaster many times worse than the World Trade Center attack.
Over and over Mr. Bush has said he’ll do whatever is necessary to remove Saddam Hussein from Iraq. (“I’ve made up my mind that Saddam needs to go.”) Until recently, that meant an invasion of Iraq – with the only question being when, not if.
Lately, as more and more people have spoken out against such an invasion, he’s said he’s considering several possibilities. But don’t be surprised when some “incident” provides an excuse to launch a full-scale strike against Iraq. American leaders have always found ways to provoke incidents – from Fort Sumter to the Gulf of Tonkin – that draw America into wars.
No reason for an invasion has made any sense.
- Because Iraq might have nuclear weapons? Does this mean America will next attack China – a nation many times more powerful than Iraq?
- Because of human rights violations? Why not first invade Zimbabwe – where the ruling party is looting and destroying farms, even as the nation starves?
- Because Iraq might be connected to al-Qaida? What about Saudi Arabia – a nation that’s been far more helpful to America’s enemies?
- Because Saddam Hussein is a madman? How can a madman stay in power for 23 years and earn the respect of his fellow Arab leaders, who refuse to support a war against him?
- Because “Saddam Hussein has gassed his own people” – that argument-clinching, can’t-answer-that-can-you, case-closed game-winner? Well, does that mean George Bush will next be attacking Bill Clinton and Janet Reno – who gassed the Branch Davidians at Waco in 1993?
Support Evaporating
For the bombing of Afghanistan and other fronts of the “War on Terrorism,” Mr. Bush was able to buy the support of foreign leaders – even though polls showed that their subjects opposed America’s actions. But for his rumble with Iraq, he’s finding it tough to get anyone to hold his coat.
Even so, he’s determined to have his war against Iraq – whether or not anyone can invent a plausible reason to justify an unprovoked attack on another nation.
Motive?
Why?
I can’t read his mind. But the likely reason is because most of the excitement and patriotic hysteria generated after 9-11 has dried up. And there’s still 26 months before the next presidential election. At this rate he’ll go the way of his father – a big hit for a short period but yesterday’s fish by the time he ran for re-election.
So how can Junior keep the war on the front page for two more years – so we all remain grateful to Big Brother for protecting us from the evil-doers of the world?
Simple. Another war.
And since America picks only on nations that have no chance of beating us, it probably won’t take more than a few months before Iraq is conquered. That means still another war against someone else, and maybe even two more, before November 2004. After that, maybe we can relax. Somehow the threat to the American way and everything we hold dear will finally be over.
Playing Loose with America’s Future
If we live that long.
There’s a terrible problem in that scenario.
It’s really unlikely that Hussein has “weapons of mass destruction.” So he’s not actually much of a threat to anyone.
But let’s just suppose George Bush is right (for once). Let’s assume Hussein does have the ability to nuke the United States of America. It would be suicidal for him to use those weapons against us.
He knows he can’t defeat America. So using nuclear or biological weapons against us would give George Bush the perfect excuse to drop nuclear bombs on Baghdad – and anywhere else Hussein might try to hide. By using a nuclear weapon against America, Hussein would be signing his own death warrant.
There’s only one circumstance in which he’d have reason to do so. If America invaded Iraq, he’d know his days would be numbered. He couldn’t possibly drive the Americans out of Iraq. They would capture and kill him.
And if he’s going to die anyway, why not use the most terrible weapons he has to cause as much destruction to his enemies as possible before he dies?
So the one situation in which Hussein would use weapons of mass destruction against us would be if George Bush ordered an invasion of Iraq.
If Mr. Bush doesn’t realize this, he’s a fool. If he does realize it, he’s acting with reckless disregard for the safety of the American people and he should be prosecuted.
Either way, his bellicose talk of invading Iraq and deposing Hussein is evidence that George Bush is unfit to be president of the United States.
