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There are a lot of people out there running around with a lot of ideas and opinions on the current situation with Iraq. I can't say that I've kept up with everything, but I have managed to read an article here and there, and I have a general notion of events. My own feelings about the Iraq situation are inconclusive. On the one hand I think that military force is needed, I'm not a No War In Iraq person, but at the same time I wish we wouldn't invade.
There seems to be a good argument that Saddam is not being truthful and forthcoming about his weapon stockpiles, nor is he making any obvious attempts to help the weapons inspectors, though I haven't heard that the weapons inspectors are complaining about non-cooperation. Is the Iraqi government telling the truth about their situation or are they lying to us? Is our U.S. Government telling the truth about wanting to disarm Iraq or are thy really using the disarmament of Iraq as a front to achieve other goalsÂ…control of oil fields, Imperialism, American arrogance asserting our dominance? Is Bush really an evil man hell bent on war, is he kowtowing to those that supported his campaign or is he simply trying to take care of a bad situation?
I know the similarities are not exact, but I can't help but think about the situation in the 1930's as Europe tried to appease Adolph Hitler. They tried every diplomatic avenue that they could, but in the largest war in history was started. Now that's not to say that had Britain and France reacted differently that history would have been any better, but you have to wonder. If the Allies had dealt with Germany in the mid 30's, there might never have been a World War II.
Do we face a similar threat now? If the UN or the U.S. doesn't make a preemptive strike and remove Saddam, do we face an even bigger threat with him staying in power? I'm struck by the catch-22 of the situation. We attack Iraq and presuming that the U.S. achieves victory ousting Saddam and we find no evidence of these weapons of mass destruction, well we run the very big chance of discrediting ourselves and bringing even more scorn on the U.S. On the other hand if the U.S. does nothing and the U.N. weapons inspectors never find any WMD and then sometime down the road Saddam unleashes some kind of attackÂ…well there you have it.
I guess what it comes down to, is do we trust President Bush, the U.N., or Europe? Do we dare trust Saddam Hussein? Is the damage of war worth the potential damage of an unknown threat in the future?