Is The GOP Backing Off On Iraq?

Sources are indicating that many GOP leaders are now backing off an attack against the Hussein regime in Iraq, wanting to wait for the international community and more evidence before launching any kind of strike.

The sad fact is, the most likely point we’ll get proof of Saddam Hussein having weapons of mass destruction is after he’s ready to use them. Once Saddam gets a nuclear device he has an ace in the hole that will ensure that no one attempts his removal. Millions of innocent Iraqi civilians will be ground under the boot of the Hussein regime, because we were too timid to act when we had the chance.

After September 11 we had the clarity of conviction to do what we had to do to protect ourselves from an agency that desired to murder Americans en masse. Now, less than a year later, that clarity is all but lost. We heard the same story about Afghanistan, that if we attacked the Arab world would turn against us and would attack the US with even greater strength than before. It was bullshit then, and its bullshit now. The Arab world knows that it cannot defeat the United States militarily, and another September 11-style operation isn’t going to be unlikely. (My guess is the next asshole that tries to hijack a US airliner gets killed within in five minutes of making his move.) Getting rid of Iraq will lead to more rhetoric, but the Arab world is impotent and fractured, and thier pissing and moaning shouldn’t dictate US policy.

Unfortunately, the some of the leadership of the GOP doesn’t appear to have the cojones to support an attack that could ensure that the regional balance of power doesn’t tilt towards a deranged dictator. Brent Scowcroft should know better than to think that more inspections will do any good. Only be ensuring that Iraq’s WMD programs are completely and utterly destroyed while lifting the yoke of tyranny from the Iraqi people can America have any hope of making the Middle East a place where freedom can flourish.