Another letter to Congress
There is another word for preemptive strike. It is called a war of aggression. In case you forgot that is the reason we were justified in attacking Iraq the first time, not general feelings about him being a “Bad Man.”
The only reason we have for this war of aggression is because Hussein is a “Bad Man.” Unfortunately the world is full of bad men, even sadder is that we have embraced them over the years as we did with Hussein when he committed his most atrocious acts. When we choose to act against “Bad Men” it is done through diplomacy and sanctions. I see no reason why we are treating Iraq any differently. There are many worse men and regimes in Africa (and other places), yet we don’t threaten war there.
This suggested war seems to be little more than political mis-direction at best and temper tantrum over not being sure about killing bin Laden at worse. There appears to be no contemporary link between Iraq and terrorism, much less al-Q’aida or September 11th.
I have heard no contemporary evidence on why we need to risk 250,000 troops, spend billions of dollars, and be committed to decades of peace keeping so president Bush can have his war of aggression on Iraq. Israel has shown what decades of military occupation reaps, unceasing hostility and an increase in terrorism, not its end. We are beginning to feel the effects of not fielding a sufficient peace keeping force in Afghanistan. What we feel there will be little compared to what changing the face of Iraq will cost us. I’m not prepared to pay that price so president Bush can exercise whatever demons he has left over from his father’s invasion.
When I was 12 I stood at the Vietnam Memorial with my father, he hugged me as tight as he could, he had tears pouring down his face. This is the only time I remember seeing my father cry. We were looking at the sea of names each representing a missing life, a husband, brother, or son lost in a pointless war. A war over a concept that was better thought out than why we are talking about attacking Iraq. He told me not to let it happen again. I’d hate to fail my father in one of the only important things he asked of me.
We have no business engaging in this war of aggression. We certainly shouldn’t be doing it without U.N. Support. If congress appropriately doesn’t make a formal declaration of War and we act anyway I would consider it a criminal act easily worthy of impeachment.