Opinion

Attack Iraq

Invasion needed to protect national interests

Matthew Caster
Opinion Columnist

We live in a society which so easily succumbs to scare-tactics pumped out from the liberal press and liberals in Congress.

Hereis the latest one: If the United States attacks Iraq, we will be attacked by al-Qaida and thousands of Americans will die because George W. Bush had to rush off to war. Thatis why thereis been so much "chatter" lately, and why the nationis terror alert status is now orange instead of yellow.

And the press reminds us of that. Statements like "Many Americans are fearful that Bushis preemptive strike on Iraq may trigger further terrorist attacks from al-Qaida" have been a mainstay on network news broadcasts in recent days.

A couple of problems arise, however. First of all, donit blame Bush. Recall that Congress, including a Democrat-controlled Senate, gave Bush authorization to use any necessary means to end Saddam Husseinis reign over Iraq.

Furthermore, itis probably a pretty safe bet al-Qaida would attack us tomorrow if it had the chance, whether or not we did anything in Iraq.

So now, for all of you brainwashed by the biased liberal media, how about some straight talk? Thatis what Iim here for, after all. Iim going to lay out the facts so far as I have been able to ascertain them. If any of you have facts that disprove mine, I invite you to e-mail me.

Fact No. 1: The only reason al-Qaida would care if we attacked Iraq would be if it were being supplied weapons of mass destruction by Saddam. Al-Qaida battles on a religious front, whereas Saddamis government is mostly secular.

Hence, each set of ideals is detrimental to the other unless they are working together for a common goal: killing Americans. If thatis the case, and the two have united to wage "holy war" against us, both the NATO charter and the United Nations self-defense resolutions say we can and should attack Iraq.

Fact No. 2: The American people have never been more ready, willing or able to thwart a terrorist attack than they are now. While no one can guarantee we are immune to attack (as we thought we were before 9/11), the American people are more vigilant, our law enforcement is more prepared, and our intelligence is better than ever.

We can not use a possible reprisal by anyone to de-justify a just war (sub-fact No. 2: Iraq is still in "material breach" of U.N. resolutions, hence, a just war, as stipulated by resolution 1441).

Fact No. 3: Attacking Iraq is an extension of the war on terror. Last week, Colin Powell, our distinguished secretary of state, presented overwhelming and frightening evidence to the U.N. Security Council about the status of Iraqis weapons programs, not to mention the contacts between Iraq and al-Qaida. If al-Qaida is in Iraq, then we have not only the right but also the responsibility to go in there and eliminate it.

But since we can safely assume Saddam will not take care of them himself, nor allow American forces in to eliminate the terrorist threat, then heis siding with the terrorists, and therefore fair game.

In short, all of that hooey about impending attack from al-Qaida if we attack Iraq is just another scare tactic from the peaceniks and hippie-liberals.

Take off the rose-colored glasses for a minute and take note of the fact that both al-Qaida and Iraq are still real, legitimate threats against us, and we have the right to defend ourselves and our interests.

The danger is real, friends, and taking a few casualties now may be infinitely better than many more casualties caused by inaction on our part.

Caster, a senior petroleum engineering major, can be reached at patrioticcatmaster@yahoo.com