On Nov. 8 the U.N. Security Council unanimously voted 15-0 to adopt Resolution 1441, calling for Saddam Hussein to allow weapons inspectors unhindered access to any site suspected of producing chemical, biological or nuclear weapons. The Security Council is in full agreement that Hussein remains a terrible threat. Many countries (as well as college students at this University) shudder at the idea of using force to disarm and prevent Hussein from acquiring nuclear weapons. Yet the case for a military intervention to remove Hussein is now stronger than ever.
While the argument that Hussein is not a threat sounds appealing, college students need to examine Hussein's past history of unrelenting aggression. Hussein invaded Iran in 1980, conquered Kuwait in 1990 and assaulted both Saudi Arabia and Israel with missiles in 1991. Three of these aggressive attacks were unprovoked. Hussein has the distinction of being the only ruler to use chemical and biological weapons on his own people -- Hussein attacked 4 million Kurdish Iraqis. ("Lesson's of Iraq's mass murder," The Washington Post, June 2). Oh, and since 1992 Hussein has routinely shot at U.S. and British aircraft patrolling the "no-fly zone." Not satisfied with brutalizing his own people, Hussein encourages terrorism by paying thousands of dollars to families of Hamas suicide bombers. Despite these atrocities, Hussein managed to win 100 percent of the popular vote for president!
Hussein's history of violating international law and developing illegal weapons only further verifies the need to remove him from power. In February 1991, Hussein signed an agreement accepting all U.N. Security Council resolutions passed after his invasion of Kuwait. He recognized Resolution 687, which demands that Iraq's weapons of mass destruction be "destroyed, removed or rendered harmless," and requires that inspectors be allowed into Iraq. Yet Hussein toyed with the inspectors by withholding information and hiding materiel. In over seven years, inspectors did manage to destroy 27,000 chemical bombs, artillery shells and rockets, and 500 tons of mustard and nerve agents. Yet in August 1998, Hussein closed the door to further inspections, correctly believing that no one would challenge him. So, what has Hussein been up to during the past four years? Khidhir Hamza, former chief nuclear scientist for Hussein's nuclear weapons development program and another Iraqi defector, asserts that Hussein will have three nuclear weapons by 2005 ("Defector: Iraq could have nukes by 2005," CNN, Aug.1). Richard Butler, former chief U.N. weapons inspector, says it is "foolish in the extreme" to believe that Hussein is not hard at work on long-range missiles, and nuclear, chemical and biological weaponry ("Haunted history," ABC NEWS.com, May 8).
Unfortunately, some students on this campus refuse to acknowledge the danger Hussein poses. Instead, "peace activists" at this University spout a number of inaccurate arguments on why the United States should not confront Iraq. One argument heard quite often is that the United States supported Hussein in the 1980's and ignored his actions against the Kurds. Yet, even if we were wrong to support Hussein in the past, should we continue to follow the wrong policy for consistency's sake? I doubt we should turn another blind eye to the atrocities Hussein is currently committing. Another common (misguided) argument is that the real reason the United States is fighting this war is for economic reasons. Interesting. Wrong, but interesting. According to Jeffrey E. Garten, the Dean of Yale's School of Management and economic advisor to Clinton, Bush's foreign policy toward Iraq will substantially hurt our economy and wreak havoc on globalization ("A foreign policy harmful to business," BusinessWeek, Oct. 14). Not to mention that the cost of an invasion would run into the billions of dollars. Finally, some individuals argue that a war would unfairly cost the lives of numerous innocent Iraqis. Yet, these individuals fail to comment on the fact that every day innocent Iraqis lose their lives under the dictatorship of Hussein. Unfortunately, every war results in the lose of innocent lives. However, those who lost their lives during World War II prevented countless others from perishing.
So let's put the situation in context: Hussein controls a brutal totalitarian regime that is both a proven threat to its neighbors and its own people. Hussein shows a pattern of attacking other countries without provocation, while also displaying a willingness to export terrorism around the world. Hussein broke armistice agreements of the Gulf War and violated the weapons-inspections by refusing inspectors access to view his weapons. As dictator of Iraq, Hussein killed thousands of his own people, yet still found time to plot an assassination of a president of the United States. Hussein's entire rule is a story of defiance by Iraq against the United Nations.
The United Nations has demanded Hussein's compliance with a list of resolutions, yet Hussein has ignored them. The United Nations must enforce the mandatory resolutions that it passed. If it does not, the United Nations will become nothing more than a second-rate version of the League of Nations and the United States will have no choice but to dispose of the world's worst enemy.
(Matthew D. Rubin is a member of the College Republicans.)
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