It is laughable when President Bush expresses his desire for a diplomatic solution to the Iraqi crisis. Make no mistake—we are heading for war.
Iraq has done nothing to the United States other than subject itself to several years of relentless bombing. Hardliners claim Iraq poses a great threat to our nation but, in reality, Iraq poses no credible threat because it lacks offensive capabilities to strike us.
Iraq’s military is one-third the size it was prior to the Gulf War and what is left has been dug into defensive positions. The Bush administration fails to tell the American public that the longest-range weapon Iraq has (the Scud) cannot cross the Mediterranean, let alone the Atlantic.
Iraq’s absolute longest range Scud (which is not suitable for any weapon of mass destruction or medium or large conventional warhead) has a maximum range of 500 miles.
There are several versions of the Scud with ranges from about 150 miles to 300 miles. The distance from Baghdad to Jerusalem is over 560 miles, but by positioning the Scud in the farthest section of southern Iraq the Scud could theoretically hit Jerusalem With respect to Scuds hitting Israel in the first war—39 missiles hit Israel. The vast majority hit Tel Aviv because that was the farthest they could reach.
Secretary of State Colin Powell’s attempt to show a connection between Iraq and terrorists was absurd.
Terrorist cells operate in nearly half the world’s countries so it’s inappropriate to single out Iraq in this regard. No one has proven that Iraq had anything to do with the 9/11 terrorist attacks and it is also important to note that CIA and State Department analysts have said that it is unlikely that Iraq would provide weapons of mass destruction to terrorists.
It is stunning to hear hardliners state that the only solution is war. Iraq is weak and contained; UN inspectors are prowling the countryside and Iraq is surrounded by hostile countries.
Why should the United States invade Iraq when the number of countries and organizations that have more offensive capabilities than Iraq is greater than the number of Scud missiles Iraq possesses? The seeds of international turmoil we sow during this invasion will haunt us for decades to come.
It is in this twilight of war that our demand for peace be absolute. As Senator Kerry pointed out, we should not go to war because we want to, but because we must. It is blatantly clear that there is no need for war but only an abundance of want for war.
