OUR WORLD

NOT SAFER

George Bush tries to claim the Iraq War has made America safer. Not so. Putting aside the American soldiers killed and wounded, the thousands of Iraqi civilians killed, the huge expense, questions of right and wrong, the administration’s many misleading and false statements, the lack of WMD, the incompetence of “post war” planning, etc. - are we “on balance”, safer because of the Iraq War? The point is not to gloss over these very important issues, but to just examine the question of the war’s effect on the long-term safety of Americans.

In the wake of not finding WMD, the Bush administration trotted out new justifications, emphasizing that Saddam Hussein was a cruel and dangerous dictator and that the world is better off without him in power. Of course, this is true. However, it is a one sided incomplete way of looking at the situation. What matters is reducing the chances and severity of future terrorist attacks. This is what the "War on Terror" should be and was supposed to be about.

So looking at the big long term picture; has the Iraq War made America safer? On the plus side, Saddam is gone. But on the other hand, the war has created and exacerbated many problems in fighting the “War on Terror”. First, it has diverted a good share of our focus and resources. We concentrated on Iraq instead of Al-Qaeda and other terrorists groups. In Afghanistan we did not commit enough troops to finish the job. Now, the Taliban is resurgent, Afghan terrorists groups are emboldened and Osama Bin-Laden is still at large. Our military has performed magnificently, but is stretched thin. Their tours have been extended and repeated. Second, the war has damaged our relationships with long time allies and partners in combating terrorism. Worse, it has caused major problems for us in the Arab world. Less than ten percent of Arabs now view America positively. Third and most important, the war and the very poorly planned occupation is a recruiting bonanza for anti-American terrorists groups. We are creating terrorists for years to come. Unfortunately, these negative ramifications far outweigh the positive of removing Saddam.

Jerry Aldeman
Coralville, Iowa