Web Exclusives
Editor Matthew Rothschild comments on the news of the day.





July 13, 2004


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Oak Ridge Boy and His War

Bush keeps defending the indefensible: His reckless, illegal war against
Iraq.


In his speech at Oak Ridge, he repeated one of his favorite lines: "I had a
choice to make: Either take the word of a madman, or defend America."


But that was not the choice he had to make.


Though Saddam was still playing games with the U.N. weapons inspectors, they
were allowed to go anywhere and everywhere in Iraq. This was the most
intrusive inspection effort of all time, and Bush refused to let it proceed
and refused to believe what the weapons inspectors were telling him.


On top of that, the United States, Germany, and Russia were able to fly spy
planes over every square inch of Iraqi territory.


So, no, Bush didn't have to take the word of a madman.


He could have taken the word of the U.N. weapons inspectors, but he chose
not to.


He could have taken the evidence from the spy planes, but he chose not to.


Instead, he chose to plunge into war for ulterior motives. Some were petty
(to get back at Saddam for allegedly trying to kill his daddy, or to clear
up the blemish on daddy's record for not "finishing the job" and going to
Baghdad). Some were about oil: controlling it, and letting U.S. companies
get their hands on it. Some were about geopolitics: hedging a bet against an
unstable Saudi Arabia, and eliminating a foe of Israel.


But Bush never has spoken honestly about these motives, and his speech at
Oak Ridge was no exception.


He did, however, repeat the claim that "the American people are safer"
because of the Iraq War.


That's a hard argument to win.


Former head of counterterrorism Richard Clarke says the Iraq War has made us
much less safe. So, too, has Retired General Anthony Zinni, who used to be
the Pentagon's commander for that region of the world.


The International Institute for Strategic Studies, based in London, says
that the Iraq War has made the world less safe and has served as a "potent
global recruitment pretext" for Al Qaeda, whose ranks have grown to 18,000
as a consequence.


U.S. alliances are tattered, and the U.S. reputation in the world is at
historic lows.


How does that make us any safer?


Bush can boast all he wants, but his Iraq War is a disaster no matter how
you slice it.

-- Matthew Rothschild