I happen to be one of the late newspaper readers. While scanning through the Friday, Jan. 31, edition of The Reflector, Wilson Boyd’s column on Iraq sounded interesting to me, and I spent the time to read it entirely. I must commend Boyd on his insight about the issue and for providing a lot more justification than most of the people who simply say “Let’s go for war.” However, I don’t agree with the causes he mentioned.
First, I would have really appreciated it if Boyd had not used the phrase “extremist Islamic terrorists.” He should have rephrased it as “extremist terrorists.” Their opinions or actions have NOTHING to do with the religion of Islam.
Second, Boyd mentioned a rather interesting law: “When weapons of mass destruction exist, they will eventually be used on somebody.” Does this law apply to Iraq ONLY, or does it have a much wider horizon? If the history of humanity is examined, you’ll find just one instance of the use of weapons of mass destruction and by just one nation. So is it not a double standard to demand and preach what one does not actually practice?
Finally, Boyd mentioned Saddam Hussein (by the way, I hate the guy more than Boyd does) and his attempt to acquire chemical and biological weapons since 1968. Well, if you closely examine the situation, it was the American government that provided Hussein with all the weapons that he possesses today during the 1980s when he was fighting the Iranians. So, in essence, unfortunately, the transformation of Hussein from a dictator to a tyrant was aided by the American government.
–Graduate Student