Document text
--> --> Step warily in the Iraqi muck The (Eugene) Register Guard Nov. 28 With the war in Afghanistan going our way and Osama bin Laden living the unpleasant life of a fugitive mole, President Bush appears to be lining up Iraq as the next U.S. military target - and its leader Saddam Hussein as the next bin Laden. Bush warned earlier this week that Iraq "will be held accountable" for developing weapons of mass destruction. Hussein, the president said, must open his arms plants to international inspectors or face the consequences. The president should think long and hard before expanding the war in Afghanistan to Iraq, if for no other reason than the glaring absence of a case against Hussein. U.S. officials concede there is no evidence directly linking Iraq with the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and the State Department says it has no evidence of Iraqi-sponsored terrorism against the United States since 1993. No evidence. No indictment. No war. Another reason is that the U.S. mission in Afghanistan has not yet been completed. Bin Laden and many leaders of his al-Qaeda network still remain at large, Taliban fighters hold much of the countryside, and the process of building a stable new government is in its precarious infancy. The United States and its coalition partners also have much work to do in unraveling the global strands of al-Qaeda in the months and years to come. Bush should also reflect on the formidable military logistics of taking out Hussein. The Iraqi leader has a large, well-equipped army that makes the Taliban look like mall rats. And Baghdad, his power base, is a vast metropolis that would be far less conducive to U.S. special forces operations than Afghan cities such as Kabul or Kunduz. In Iraq, the United States also would lack an organized, effective and aggressive military partner such as the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan. U.S. military action in Iraq would also cause already-edgy Muslim members of the U.S.-led coalition to bolt, a development that would endanger the long-range success of the U.S. effort in Afghanistan. Even some European members, such as Germany, have already warned that they want no part of any military action in Iraq. If the United States prevailed against Hussein, it would face another monumental job of nation building. Iraq is a jigsaw puzzle of interests - Arabs and Kurds, Sunnis and Shiites. If the United States failed to put a steady, strong government in place, neighboring nations such as Iran would fill the power void. But the most compelling reason not to expand the war to Iraq is the lack of evidence tying Hussein to the events of Sept. 11. The direct, clear linkage between the attacks on New York and Washington and the Taliban, al-Qaeda and bin Laden has resulted in remarkable support by U.S. citizens for the effort in Afghanistan. An unwarranted invasion of Iraq would undermine that support. Unlike bin Laden and al-Qaeda, Hussein also has shown himself capable of exercising a degree of restraint. Hussein has no lack of bad qualities - but self-destructive foolishness is not one of them. One can assume that he has watched the fate of the Taliban in Afghanistan and knows that an attack on the United States or its allies would produce equally swift and certain justice. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing