Former Secretary of State James A. Baker is saying that
we should not go after Iraq alone. The argument is that if we go in and depose Hussein it will irrecoverably damage our relations with the rest of the world. Baker argues that we need to get UN permission before we go in.
Unfortunately, the time for that has long since passed. al-Qaeda is already in northern Iraq, and Saddam is continuing to stockpile weapons of mass destruction. It is clear that Saddam will make a move sooner of later, and statements like Baker’s only embolden Hussein. We can ill afford the months of wrangling it would take for the UN to decide anything, if they ever would get a consensus. The same Arab states that Baker wants to placate will never approve any attack on Iraq until an American city lies in ruins.
Even Baker agrees that regime change in necessary for the safety of the Iraqi people and the stability of the region. We no longer have the luxury of time as Saddam continues his internal reign of terror and his stockpiling of weapons of mass destruction. Yes, it would be preferable to get some allies on our side before we go in, but we cannot allow that to be a roadblock towards doing what must be done to protect the interests of world peace.
