2008 Woodie Awards
Weapons of Mass Confusion
Questioning the Intentions of War
Michael McPhee
Issue date: 11/20/03 Section: Opinion
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Last year I spent a great amount of time and energy promoting a pre-emptive attack against the regime of a proven maniac. It is true that he was a maniac, but the reasons that I gave for launching a unprecedented pre-emptive invasion have so far been proven to be wrong. The alleged weapons of mass destruction that President Bush, Donald Rumsfeld and the rest of the administration said were in Iraq, so far haven't been found. So the question is, was Iraq really a threat at all? In the long run, maybe, but it doesn't seem that it was in any position to be an imminent threat.
To date, over 165 soldiers have died since President Bush declared major hostilities in Iraq over, and by the time you read this column, that number will most likely have increased. A Coalition spokeswoman stated that attacks on Allied forces number between 30 and 35 a day, not all attacks being fatal. The Chief Coalition administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, stated that in the months to come the occupation would be even harder and that violence would increase. He added that, "Unless our intelligence gets better, we're going to have a problem." The Philadelphia Inquirer reported yesterday that the CIA had issued a top-secret report from Iraq, endorsed by Paul Bremer, warning that growing numbers of Iraqis are concluding that the U.S. can be defeated and are supporting the insurgents. What happened to the sunny days of cooperative reconstruction that the President forecasted?
Besides the sickeningly high toll in lives that the war has taken, think about the billions of dollars being wasted. The President asked for $87 billion for Iraq to sustain our soldiers and to help fund the rebuilding of Iraq. Obviously the money is needed, but with a $500 billion deficit predicted for next year, how can the administration justify giving such a large gift? The Iraqi's are sitting on one of the largest oil reserves in the world, worth hundreds of billions of dollars, they can afford to repay the United States when the pumping is back up and running at normal levels.
The New York Times reported a little known story that said it had received information that there were last minute pleas by the Iraqi government to avoid war. The report states that, an agent speaking on behalf of Saddam's Regime was sent to negotiate a deal that would prevent an invasion, he was instructed to make a deal at almost any cost, the CIA agent told the Iraqi "We'll see you in Baghdad."
We'll be 'seeing them in Baghdad' for a while. For years the security of Iraq will be the responsibility of the United States. A democratic government will need to be guaranteed by the United States so it doesn't wind up being another breeding ground for terrorism, like Afghanistan. Until the weapons of mass destruction remain "missing" in Iraq, the war that was waged served no purpose other than to drain the tax dollars out of America and to ensure another source of cheap oil for America.
To date, over 165 soldiers have died since President Bush declared major hostilities in Iraq over, and by the time you read this column, that number will most likely have increased. A Coalition spokeswoman stated that attacks on Allied forces number between 30 and 35 a day, not all attacks being fatal. The Chief Coalition administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, stated that in the months to come the occupation would be even harder and that violence would increase. He added that, "Unless our intelligence gets better, we're going to have a problem." The Philadelphia Inquirer reported yesterday that the CIA had issued a top-secret report from Iraq, endorsed by Paul Bremer, warning that growing numbers of Iraqis are concluding that the U.S. can be defeated and are supporting the insurgents. What happened to the sunny days of cooperative reconstruction that the President forecasted?
Besides the sickeningly high toll in lives that the war has taken, think about the billions of dollars being wasted. The President asked for $87 billion for Iraq to sustain our soldiers and to help fund the rebuilding of Iraq. Obviously the money is needed, but with a $500 billion deficit predicted for next year, how can the administration justify giving such a large gift? The Iraqi's are sitting on one of the largest oil reserves in the world, worth hundreds of billions of dollars, they can afford to repay the United States when the pumping is back up and running at normal levels.
The New York Times reported a little known story that said it had received information that there were last minute pleas by the Iraqi government to avoid war. The report states that, an agent speaking on behalf of Saddam's Regime was sent to negotiate a deal that would prevent an invasion, he was instructed to make a deal at almost any cost, the CIA agent told the Iraqi "We'll see you in Baghdad."
We'll be 'seeing them in Baghdad' for a while. For years the security of Iraq will be the responsibility of the United States. A democratic government will need to be guaranteed by the United States so it doesn't wind up being another breeding ground for terrorism, like Afghanistan. Until the weapons of mass destruction remain "missing" in Iraq, the war that was waged served no purpose other than to drain the tax dollars out of America and to ensure another source of cheap oil for America.