No one believes that Saddam is anything other than an evil dictator, but there are about 60 other evil dictators out there. Kim Jong Il and President Jiang of Communist China are far more murderous dictators that have threatened US cities with nuclear annihilation. Shall we just kill them all too. In order to be consistent you would support invading Communist China and North Korea and/or assassinating their leaders, but I strongly suspect you do not. Perhaps this would prove that a lot of the invade Iraq chest beating gorilla types are just full of hot air? I would support military action against Communist China and North Korea, Iran, and a US invasion of Cuba. Invading non-threat Iraq in the face of these other far greater threat countries to the US would be strategically inept at best, idiotic at worst.
Anyway, I am sick and tired of being labeled a fifth columnist for Saddam or a traitor to my country for opposing going to war in Iraq. Considering the high caliber of the other statesman and generals opposing the war, including Dick Armey, Jack Kemp, LTG Brent Scowcroft the Joint Chiefs of Staff and so many other principled patriotic conservatives, I consider myself in very good company. Not exactly a bunch of Berkely liberals are we?
Best information is that Saddam has no qualms about using so-called "weapons of mass destruction" on his own people. This is singularly illustrated by using poison gas on Kurdish civilans. The best assumption is that Saddam had direct knowledge, if not involvement, in the events of 9/11. There is scant evidence, but evidence nonetheless, that Saddam's people had direct involvement in some aspect of 9/11. So far, we do not know if Red China, North Korea, Fidel Castro or Libya had such involvement. Thus, they are not the immediate targets of possible US retaliation.
Those who disagree with a possible invasion and "change of regime" in Iraq are not traitors, in my mind, but they have not yet presented a significant plan or option to such an attack. If today were 9/10, I'd oppose a direct invasion of Iraq. Unfortunately, it is not pre-9/11. It is now. It is here. It is a different scenario and a different circumstance. It is one thing to have political and/or military targets attacked by adversaries. It is quite another to have your soil and citizenry murdered by political, religious and militant extremists. In the overused vernacular, "everything is different, now."
We stood by and did relatively nothing when militant Islamists attacked the USS Cole, the Khobar Towers, numerous US Embassies, and US government officials. These attacks brought death and destruction to our shores. The previous administration was ineffectual and presented a weak and impotent face to the militant Islamists. Undoubtedly, that spurred them on to greater audacity. It is now time that the madness stopped and those who foment hatred, murder and the assaults on civilians be stopped. Starting somewhere is the first step to ridding the civilized world of barbarians cloaked in self righteous politico-religious extremism.