Don't blame Bush; war in Iraq is a 'just cause'
Editor:
It is time for some spring cleaning. Let us start with the nasty allegations of America being misled into war based on false assumptions regarding WMDs in Iraq. People, forget partisan politics and use your brain. Do you really believe that the president would justify a war based on weapons that he knew were not there? That would be the worst political stunt in recent history. You may think President Bush is stupid, but he's not that stupid. Besides, if the president was really that dishonest, or ignorant, about the supposed weapons, why wouldn't he have gone the extra mile and saved face by planting WMDs in Iraq? Certainly, it would have made him look better.
It is obvious that President Bush was misled by U.S. intelligence agencies. Just listen to what Central Intelligence Agency director George Tenet is saying. It is clear that Tenet is trying desperately to save his own reputation because he knows the CIA made huge mistakes. Remember the CIA and the Department of Intelligence are supposed to be the highest authorities on foreign intelligence in the nation.
If it turns out that there are no weapons in Iraq you cannot blame Bush for the faulty information that he was given. After all, would not you trust the experts as well? If you are sick do you not consult a doctor? Think about this. If you build your house exactly according to the plans of an architect but the house falls apart due to poor design, is it your fault that the house fell? The same logical analysis should be applied to the president's decisions. Do not blame Bush for following the instructions he was given.
Finally, people forget that the possibility of WMDs was not the sole and only justifiable reason the U.S. went to war in Iraq. The United States military actions were called Operation Iraqi Freedom not Operation Iraqi Weapons Removal. Even without the presence of weapons, the war was still more than justified.
The British statesman Edmund Burke once wrote, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." For years, Saddam Hussein made a hobby out of murdering hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, not to mention testing chemical weapons on them. His regime not only supported terrorists, but also brutally oppressed and tortured anyone they pleased. These crimes went on for years without any outside interference. Who is to say what else Hussein could have or would have been involved in if American forces had not intervened? Appeasement and turning a deaf ear were simply not going to work with that dictatorship. Undoubtedly, Iraq will be a much better place without Saddam in power.
It is very tragic that American soldiers have lost their lives. However, the United States of America has never fought a war that did not involve casualties and, furthermore, those soldiers did not die in vain. Their cause, like Bush's, was just and righteous, no matter what people may say.
Josh Woodward
Evans