I feel a strong compunction to reply to Mr. Dumbuya’s letter to the editor, dated March 25, 2003, in which Mr. Dumbuya presented arguments against the war in Iraq so incomprehensible, incorrect, and intellectually vapid that their proper refutations should employ an entire edition of the newspaper as opposed to a mere 500-word response.
The Bush Doctrine, borne out of the events of Sept. 11, 2001, is the idea that America and her allies will not sit passively while terrorists plot destruction.
Instead, intelligence agencies will work to find terrorist plots that are in the making and eradicate them before they reach fruition. In the past, the idea of pre-emption was rightly seen as too aggressive.
However, our new enemy acts with little, if any, warning. New technologies must combat this new threat, and the result is a policy in which enemies are destroyed before they can attack. To sit passively, to ignore repeated warnings, and to hope that all humans are rational enough to avoid war, in this day in age, is to assure our destruction.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1441, unanimously passed on Nov. 8, 2002, was explicit in its demand that Hussein rid his regime of all WMD or face “serious consequences”.
The weapons inspectors were charged with assuring disarmament, and not to “look for weapons.” The onus of disarmament was on Hussein, not the weapons inspectors. The actions of Hussein subsequent to 1441 made it clear that he was not disarming, nor was he going to. He was, therefore, in material breach of 1441.
The term “material breach” that Mr. Dumbuya uses as a punch line is, in fact, justification for war, per 1441. The United Nations must back up its resolutions, else it face irrelevance.
As for Mr. Dumbuya’s claim that the Bush Administration is “moving fast” towards war, I can only ask how one can possibly believe that 12 years of United Nations resolutions can be termed “moving fast”. The simple fact is that Hussein has repeatedly ignored the United Nations exactly because he does not fear retribution.
During the 12 years after the Persian Gulf War, contrary to what Mr. Dumbuya asserts, Hussein has, in fact, attacked and gassed his own people. Therein lies the humanitarian reason for our action in Iraq.
The oppression, brutality, and fear that the Iraqis have been subjected to these 23 years cannot possibly be conjured up in the freedom-loving mind.
Finally, I wish to rebuke Mr. Dumbuya’s overarching theme that this is President Bush’s war. The coalition forces against Hussein are comprised of no less than 45 nations. The idea that this action is unilateral is absurd.
This action is an unfortunate necessity borne out of Hussein’s failure to comply with 17 different United Nations Resolutions, and for the threat he represents as a tyrannical dictator with the means to create WMD, coupled with the wish to give them to terrorist organizations who seek to attack the golden child of the Western civilized world, America.