Why the Iraq War is necessary.

[Bush School Agg]

Make no mistake about it; it was the Bush Administration’s error to pin the justification for the Iraq War on weapons of mass destruction. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think the administration lied or deliberately misled the American people. Many valid arguments could have been made to justify the U.S. action in Iraq. But by picking one they thought would be more acceptable to the American public, the administration failed to put forward a convincing argument that military action was not only justified but also necessary.

Twice during the latter part of the last century, the world endured wars for worldwide domination--one against Nazism the other against Marxism-Leninism. Once again the world is faced with an evil aggressor bent on tearing down the current international system (one based on the rule of law, mutual cooperation among nations, and democratic principles). The War on Terror, like World War II and the Cold War, is a hegemonic war. The nature of the international system and the future of world civilization are at stake, and our children will live under the rules established by the winner of this war.

How can the global insurgency of militant-Islamism be defeated? Conventional war tactics alone will not do it. Winning the War on Terror will require a combination of conventional use-of-force, counterinsurgency operations, and effective use of special operations forces. Civilian intelligence and law enforcement agencies will have to be utilized in ways that have never been seen before. Perhaps as some have suggested, a strong and courageous alliance of nations willing to face down the evil threat is the most critical requirement. Without question, the American people will need to remain strong-willed, resolute, and determined to defeat those that would (given the opportunity) destroy them and their way of life.

A strategic priority of this war must be to deny to the enemy any “safe haven” where he can hide and plot his attacks against the civilized world. In other words, states that insist on continuing to sponsor or harbor international terrorists must be forced to change. This aid and logistical support must be denied to the terror network. If we are fighting this war to win, then this is the reason (and not potential WMD) that not only justified--but also necessitated regime change in Iraq and the reason that made it necessary to go into Afghanistan and topple the Taliban.

Today with Saddam in prison, the people in Iraq have a new chance for freedom. The torture chambers have been destroyed, the mass graves uncovered. In Afghanistan, people now play soccer in the stadium were the Taliban beheaded women in the not too distant past. For humanitarian reasons alone, these wonderful things more than justify American military action. But these things didn’t make military action necessary. That Iraq had potentially reacquired weapons of mass destruction didn’t make military action immediately necessary either. Denying a committed state sponsor of terrorism to those that would use that state as a base of operations from which to plan, train, and fund attacks against us--that is what made military action necessary. I only hope that America’s credibility and the resolve of the American people can survive the relentless onslaught from the left-wing media that is sure to continue until such weapons are found.

[Tijeras_Slim]

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