Our War in Iraq is Justified

On September 11, 2001 a nation watched in horror as Muslim extremist murdered 2,819 American civilians. It was the biggest terrorist attack the world had ever seen, and sparked the largest flow of patriotism in America's history. The attacks became a battle cry for liberty and freedom. Politicians swore to do everything in their powers to defend American's way of life. Less then six years later, more then half of the politicians are going back on their promise. The United States invaded Iraq as part of the war on terrorism. Before September 11^th terrorism was either appeased, 1993 World Trade Center bombings and the sinking of USS Cole, or fought in retaliation. September 11^th changed this view. It put the United States on the offensive with a doctrine of kill them there before they kill us here. The invasion of Iraq was undertaken to prevent more American blood from being shed in the name of perverted ideology. The war in Iraq is justified through Saddam Hussein's link to Al Qaeda, human rights abuses, and the growing threat he posed to western democracy. Saddam Hussein's regime may not have been directly involved with the planning of September 11^th, but the Iraqi government created a "safe haven" for Ansar al-Islam, a large terrorist network associated with Al Qaeda, to operate inside its borders. It has been known for years that Ansar al-Islam operated a large training camp in the northeastern part of Iraq. The base was headed by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi; a main collaborator in the attacks of September 11^th and long time associate of Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden. The invasion of Iraq has dispersed many of the Ansar al-Islam training faculties inside the country and has successfully killed terrorist mastermind al Zarqawi. Dispersing terrorism organizations and eliminating their leaders is essential to American security. The invasion of Iraq and elimination of terrorist organizations has made the world a safer place. Opponents of the war in Iraq will admit the terrorist training camps existed inside the nation's borders, but are quick to point out that the location of the camps were not under the control of Saddam Hussein. This is true but at least one member of Saddam Hussein's regime was a key operative in the Zarqowi's terrorist network. "Baghdad has an agent in the most senior levels of the radical organization Ansar al-Islam that controls this corner of Iraq. In 2000, this agent offered al-Qaida safe haven in the region." (Collin L. Powell, 1)" Powell's assertion that Hussein was aiding terrorism was also backed by New York Senator Hillary Clinton who addressed the U.S. Senate claiming, "He (Saddam Hussein) has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including Al Qaeda members. (Clinton, 2)" While the terrorist camps may not have been under Saddam's control, his government took measures to ensure the terrorist network's stability in the region. Not only did the government help the network stay unnoticed in the northern Iraq, but also it had an official directly helping the terrorist organization. The specific activities of this agent are unknown, but it would be naïve to believe this agent did not at least pass Iraqi intelligence over to Ansar al-Islam. The northeastern part of Iraq was and is controlled by Kurdish people, but Zarqawi's terrorist network was by no means limited to that region. "Zarqawi's activities are not confined to this small corner of northeast Iraq. He traveled to Baghdad in May of 2002 for medical treatment, staying in the capital of Iraq for two months while he recuperated to fight another day. (Powell, 1)." Saddam's government allowed terrorist to move freely around the nation's borders. This is because, terrorist were not viewed as enemies or a possible threat, but were seen as allies against west. Large amounts of credible information show the Iraqi government had this mindset. "We know that they have entered into agreements with one another, something that has been characterized as a non-aggression agreement, but it's really a mutual assistance agreement. We know that Iraqis have trained al-Qaeda operatives in Iraq. And there is still additional evidence involving meetings and arrangements and substantial numbers of operatives." (Perle, 3)" Despite what critics of the war and the antiwar media lead people to believe, Iraq not only harbored terrorist but also helped them lay out terrorist operations. At this point Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden, and Zarqawi viewed each other as allies against the "greater evil". Critics of the war try to question this intelligence by claiming Hussein and Bin Laden were enemies after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait during the Persian Gulf War. This is true, intelligence shows Bin Laden met the invasion with disapproval, and may have even considered Iraq a target for future terrorist plots. Critics will also argue that Bin Laden, a religious extremist, was at odds with Saddam's secular, non-religious government. At one time both of these arguments were valid, but times have changed. Both Bin Laden and Saddam now see the United States as the bigger enemy. Bin Laden sees the economic success of the U.S. threatening to his way of life and hates America's support of the "Infidel" nation of Israel. He also claims U.S. troops desecrated the Islam holy land of Mecca. Hussein is still bitter over the United States defeat of Iraq during the Persian Gulf War, and the sanctions it set against Iraq for human rights abuses involving chemical and biological weapons. The Islamic extremist and Hussein's government do not view each other as close friends, but have united together to fight Western ideology. Hussein saw the damage of September 11^th and the potential for more American casualties, if Iraq aided the terrorist network. The two parties put aside past disputes and united to fight the American way of life. While Hussein's established link to terrorism alone is enough to justify the United States invasion of Iraq, human rights abuses by the Iraqi government made the decision to go to war easier. "Human Rights Watch estimates that Saddam's 1987-1988 campaign of terror against the Kurds killed at least 50,000 and possibly as many as 100,000 Kurds." (U.S. Department of State fact sheet). Hussein killed the Kurds using chemical and biological weapons. Saddam's human rights abuses prove that not only does he support terrorist but he himself is terrorist. The 50,000 or more people he killed were not enemies of war, they were civilians killed for their ethnic background. People blind to the human rights situation in Iraq will argue that the abuses stopped after the Persian Gulf War, but this could not be farther from the truth. "The regime continued to be responsible for disappearances, and to kill and torture persons suspected of or related to; supporters of oppositional politics, economic crimes, military desertion, and a variety of other activities."(The U.S. Department of State, 4)" That being said, not only were people seen in opposition to Hussein subject to persecution, but Saddam continued to hurt society as a whole. The 1995 Oil for Food program, created by the United Nations, allowed Iraq to sell its oil to members of the UN in exchange for food and humanitarian aid for ordinary Iraqi citizens. The theory behind the program was that Iraqi civilians were hurt economically as a result of the Persian Gulf War. This program was to help the nation begin its recovery process, but Hussein ended any hope of recovery for his people. Saddam's tyrannical government kept large amounts of the food set aside to feed starving Iraqi's. Inspectors after the 1998 bombing of Iraq fount countless government run warehouses in Baghdad filled with food intended to feed the people of Iraq. While Saddam and people in his government thrived, he watched men, women, and children slowly starve to death inside his country. "What it looks like is the program that was set up supposedly to provide relief, medical help and basic food for the Iraqi people, was, in fact, converted to a corrupt system that generated enormous profits for Saddam Hussein himself, as well as for some people outside who were participating in that program." (V.P. Richard Cheney 5) The oil for food program was seen as an international failure, that had good intentions but its trust was misplaced in the hands of a brutal dictator.
After the Persian Gulf War Iraq signed Resolution 687, which guaranteed United Nations inspectors full access inside Iraq to monitor human rights and to inspect the nation for illegal chemical and biological weapons. The treaty made creation of such weapons illegal and was drafted to prevent mass murders from ever taking place again in Iraq. Hussein's refusal to fulfill this treaty is one of the main reasons given for the invasion of Iraq.
From the resolution passed in 1991 to the invasion of Iraq March 20, 2003 the United Nations inspectors were never allowed full access inside Iraq. Initially Hussein refused monitors the right to inspect his country at all. This deliberate disobedience of treaty 687 was allowed to continue until 1998, when President Bill Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair both ordered coordinated air strikes against Iraq military targets for three days. After the bombings inspectors were allowed to monitor Iraq for weapons within limited areas. The inspectors were denied full access to inspect Iraq, as stated in the treaty of 687. Iraq's continuous violations the UN treaty, could not go ignored post September 11th. Too much was at stake to continue to appease terrorist like Saddam Hussein. On March 19, 2003 President Bush gave an address to the American people, Iraqi people and Saddam Hussein. The President gave Iraq's dictator one last chance, 24 hours to allow inspectors full access to his country, and promised the use of force if Hussein did not comply. Saddam did not head the warning and continued to refuse inspectors access to the country, and the invasion of Iraq began. The tyrannical government had repeatedly violated the U.N. treaty for 12 years. What good is a treaty if the agreement cannot be backed with force? Most members of the U.N. seemed comfortable letting the countless human rights and treaty violations go unanswered. Initially even the United States seemed comfortable appeasing the terrorist dictator, but September 11^th opened our eyes to the true significance of the situation. Acts of atrocity and terrorism cannot be appeased. The world is better off without people like Saddam Hussein.
People who disagree with the invasion of Iraq also point to the fact that no weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) were found inside Iraq's borders. While being correct, this description does not paint the whole picture. No WMDs were found but facilities were found that were ideal for making and testing biological and chemical weapons. If Iraq's government did not currently posses the weapons, they were more then capable of quickly assembling large amounts of WMDs. One reason the weapons were not found may be because the threat of U.S. force gave the Iraqi government years to possibly smuggle the weapons out of their country. This view is backed by Israel's top general during Operation Iraqi Freedom, Moshe Yaalon. He told the New York Sun that Saddam "transferred the chemical agents from Iraq to Syria." (Yaalon, 6) Other reports of U.S. intelligence seem to back the possibility of this claim. David Kay the former head of the coalition's search for weapons of mass destruction claims "We know from some of the interrogations of former Iraqi officials that a lot of material went to Syria before the war, including some components of Saddam's WMD programme." (Kay, 7)
The question remains if Saddam never had WMD's after the Persian Gulf War, then why did he refuse to give weapons inspectors full access to his country? If no violations were present why would the dictator not being willing to comply even under the threat of U.S. military force? All intelligence points to Hussein having weapons of mass destruction before the invasion of Iraq. The testing facilities for biological and chemical weapons paired with multiple intelligence reports detailing the smuggling of WMD's to Syria leaves no doubt Hussein frequently violated the weapon agreement after the Persian Gulf War.
The threat of Hussein having biological and chemical weapons was too large of a threat to ignore. These weapons may not have been found inside his country, but there is no doubt he had the capability of making them. This coupled with his strong link to terrorism, made Saddam's regime a significant threat to the security of United States and the rest of the free world. The U.S. had to engage in this fight to prevent more American casualties on American soil. It appears our strike first method has worked. There have been no terrorist attacks inside the U.S. since September 11^th and we have dispersed or captured countless members of terrorist organizations. The capture of Saddam Hussein in Iraq seemed to give vindication for the invasion. Saddam is now on trial in Iraqi court, for crimes against humanity. He will be judged by his countrymen who experienced his abuse and neglect first hand. No one can argue the world is not safer without Hussein in power. Perhaps Massachusetts junior Senator John Kerry said it best "No one can doubt or should doubt that we are safer -- and Iraq is better -- because Saddam Hussein is now behind bars." (Kerry,8)
Works Cited 5) Cheney, Richard. Address. Town Hall Meeting. Town Hall, Joplin, Missouri. 12 Aug. 2004. 2) Clinton, Hillary R. Address. U.S. Capitol Building, Washington D.C. 10 Oct. 2002. 7) Coughlin, Con. "Saddam's WMDs Hidden in Syria, Says Iraq Survey." Sunday Telegraph 25 Jan. 2004. 8) Kerry, John. Speech. Drake University, Iowa. 16 Dec. 2003. 3) Perle, Richard. Interview with Tim Russert. Meet the Press. 26 Sept. 2002. NBC. Washington D.C. 1) Powell, Colin L. "Presentation to United Nations Security Council." 5 Feb. 2003. 6) Stoll, Ira. "Saddam's WMDs Moved to Syria, and Israeli Says." New York Sun 15 Dec. 2005. 4) United States. Department of State. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for the Year 2002. 2003.