Regarding Damon Johnson’s letter on Sept. 10, let’s be crystal clear about the cause of this war.
President Bush, on March 17, 2003, said the following:
“Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised. This regime has already used weapons of mass destruction against Iraq’s neighbors and against Iraq’s people. The regime has a history of reckless aggression in the Middle East. It has a deep hatred of America and our friends. And it has aided, trained and harbored terrorists, including operatives of al Qaeda. The danger is clear: using chemical, biological or, one day, nuclear weapons, obtained with the help of Iraq, the terrorists could fulfill their stated ambitions and kill thousands or hundreds of thousands of innocent people in our country, or any other.”
So the justifications for going to war were as follows:
* Saddam Hussein possessed stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons.
* Saddam Hussein showed no qualms in the past about using the aforementioned weapons against his neighbors or his people.
* Saddam Hussein sought to produce nuclear weapons.
* Saddam Hussein had links to al Qaeda.
* Saddam Hussein would use those links to arm al Qaeda with chemical, biological or nuclear weapons, who would in turn use those weapons against the United States.
According to the administration, the threat existed, the threat was real, the danger was imminent and the United States had to act and act now. One year and seven months after the war started and a full year and four months since the president declared the “mission accomplished,” Saddam Hussein’s stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons have yet to be found.
Regarding the supposed stashing of Iraqi weapons in Syria, this is not a new theory. That story surfaced in late 2003, and National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice stated in January 2004 that “we do not have indicators that can be considered authentic and serious that this had taken place.”
If such an event had happened, surely the national security adviser would be privy to that information.
And regarding the nuclear issue, the intelligence that pointed to Saddam Hussein acquiring nuclear materials from the African nation of Niger was a hoax.
Johnson also stated, “The Iraq-al Qaeda link has, in fact, been proven, although the liberal media and the liberal wing of the Democratic Party would have you believe otherwise.”
Really? Because if that is the case, then perhaps President Bush, British Prime Minster Tony Blair and Secretary of State Colin Powell need to do some research for themselves. All of them have admitted that there is no concrete verifiable link between Hussein’s regime and al Qaeda.
Now I ask you, what’s more believable? That no weapons or al Qaeda link exist, or that the mean old liberals and their cohorts in the media have managed to keep this information from three of the most powerful people in the world.
Johnson further stated that “I feel safer knowing that Saddam is out of power.”
I’m glad he does. Personally, I’m still a little uneasy knowing that Osama Bin Laden is still at large and that President Bush is no closer to finding him than he was before he decided to divert men, material and attention from that mission to take on Iraq.
Tony Odom is a graduate student in history.