Editorial: Give peace, inspections a chance to work

Even though Chief U.N. Weapons Inspector Hans Blix reported on
Monday Baghdad has not completely accepted resolutions demanding
disarmament, President George W. Bush must not push for war against
Iraq in his State of the Union speech tonight, or at all in
general. Instead of increasing the U.S. military presence in the
Persian Gulf, Bush should be patient, allow weapons inspectors
enough time to do their job, and stop making the United States the
world’s greatest threat to peace.

The United States’ emphasis on weapons inspections in Iraq
is severe compared to the more relaxed policies applied toward
other countries with reputably more nuclear firepower, such as
North Korea. Even though Saddam Hussein is a volatile dictator,
Iraq has not done anything since the Gulf War to threaten the
United States. The only reason weapons inspectors are in Iraq in
the first place is because Bush has made the country his personal
war-on-terrorism scapegoat.

Most analysts estimate it will take another few months for
thorough weapons inspections to reach completion. If Bush’s
true intentions behind the inspections is to move toward
disarmament, he has no logical justification to oppose giving
weapons inspectors more time to do their job. Iraq can never
“prove” they do not have weapons of mass destruction,
because Bush won’t take officials at their word. And since he
won’t let weapons inspectors take the time needed to
investigate Hussein, it’s a lose-lose situation for
peace.

Granting inspectors more time to search Iraq wouldn’t
increase the imminence of a threat against the United States. The
weapons inspectors’ presence in Iraq itself acts as a
deterrent against Hussein initiating or continuing any possible
weapons programs. Hussein might be ruthless, but he’s not
irrational: he would not construct weapons of mass destruction in
front of inspectors who could then give Bush the green light for
war. And even if inspectors discover Iraq does have weapons of mass
destruction, attempting peaceful disarmament is a better answer
than rushing into war, in terms of the American lives that would be
saved. Bush should realize he will gain credibility if weapons
inspectors are allowed to find the weapons he claims exist ““
something he might value in light of his recent decline in approval
ratings.

With some of its most recent actions, the United States has made
itself, not Iraq, the most imminent threat to world peace. It was
recently announced that defense officials are now planning for the
possible preemptive use of nuclear weapons in Iraq. The
justification is that nuclear weapons may be the only way to
destroy certain weapons of mass destruction, even though setting
the precedent that using nuclear weapons is acceptable would have
more far reaching consequences than anything found in
Hussein’s arsenal.

The United States is clearly the most powerful military force on
earth, with a defense budget greater than any other country in the
world. With such intimidating power to destroy also comes the power
to prevent destruction. Unfortunately, Bush is making the United
States a purveyor, instead of a deterrent, of destruction in urging
a hurried, rather than a quality U.N. investigation.