Has GW Done a Good Job of Laying Out His Case

[adios]

I'm referring to a war with Iraq. I agree that we need to eliminate state sponsored terrorism but I'm not sure Bush has laid out his case for a war with Iraq all that well. Perhaps I'm just not familiar with all of the details.

Perhaps Bush could have or should have made a stronger public case.

Iraq agreed not only to inspections but to disarm years ago and has of course not only thwarted inspections and refused to disarm, but has aggressively pursued development of nuclear WMD capability. Given Saddam's aggressive and brutal history, I think that if he won't disarm as agreed, then disarming him by force is called for, especially in view of the closing window of time before he possesses thermonuclear capabilities.
About 1/3 of Iraq supports Saddam and the rest of the population hates him but they are powerless and live in constant fear (his supporters live in constant fear too, but have the better of it).

Actually I think a case could be made for systematically and sequentially throwing out non-elected tyrants around the world and replacing their totalitarian rule-by-fear regimes with democratic governments. However this would necessitate much nation-building as well, and we can't right the entire world easily or all at once. In Saddam's case however it is more pressing, because WMD in the hands of such a tyrant and aggressor is something we really don't want, especially given his anti-American, anti-Israeli, anti-Western bias (Saddam called for jihad against the USA and Israel in a full-page newspaper ad about two years ago, on Christmas day).

Doubtless there exist valid arguments against these actions as well, but the window of time is probably the most compelling argument of all. Regardless of what Saddam might do now if boxed into a corner, it will be less than he could potentially do if he is boxed in at a later date when he might actually possess nuclear weapons. Right now he might at last resort threaten to burn up the oil fields or to use biological weapons. Later he would be able to threaten the use of nukes as well.

On the brighter side, it just might be that the people of Iraq may actually be thanking us a few years from now for having liberated them from today's Stalin incarnate.

It's hard to say what may actually transpire. Hopefully things will work out pretty much as Bush is anticipating and just maybe democracy will find another toehold in the Middle East besides Israel and the new Afghanistan government.

By the way, I hate tyrants, and I'm not even one who suffers under tyranny. Imagine how the people who live under these horrible systems must feel.