Whether or not the United States should go to war in Iraq seems to be the primary question that columnists, reporters, members of Congress, scholars and everyone else under the sun is discussing these days. This question of do we or don’t we go to war highlights a fundamental misunderstanding of the different concentrations of warfare.
In reality, the question is moot.
We are already at war with Iraq and have been for 12 years. How, you ask? Let me start by explaining that there are five types of warfare: combatant, economic, diplomatic, cultural and technological.
Accordingly, we have been at war with Iraq economically through sanctions and embargos, diplomatically via international pressure for the country’s disarmament and culturally with the clash between American culture and Iraq’s conservative Islamic culture. However, these types of warfare have been only slightly successful, and taken as a whole, have not forced Iraq’s disarmament.
The United States has succeeded in impoverishing Iraq, but it has not weakened Saddam Hussein’s regime. Therefore, it has become necessary to extend the war in Iraq to include combat. The need for combat has become apparent following the 9/11 attacks and with evidence that Hussein’s regime supports terrorist organizations such as Al Queda.
There also is a strategic reason for a war on Iraq.
By invading Iraq and deposing Hussein’s regime, the United States has the ability to set up permanent military installations in Iraq, which is the epicenter of the Middle Eastern world. A strong military presence in Iraq would afford the United States the option of “quick response” when identifying and destroying terrorist cells.
A permanent U. S. military presence in Iraq also would allow the United States to put a stranglehold through conventional combat on Middle Eastern countries that support terrorism. The importance of this strategic advantage must not be underestimated.
One of Al Queda’s strengths is certain states’ willingness to turn a blind eye to terrorists operations. By bringing the might of American military power to bear upon those regimes, a new era of deterrence will develop. And as the Cold War taught us, deterrence works. Any state supporting or harboring terrorist organizations would learn to fear the United States’ mighty and righteous retaliation.
The only alternative to a combat war in Iraq is to do nothing. Consequently, Hussein’s evil regime will grow stronger and will support more anti-American terror. Remember, Saddam Hussein has used weapons of mass destruction on his own people; to think that he will not do the same to the United States is ridiculous.
Some of the war’s opponents have reservations about fighting a war on our own. It is true that the United States typically has operated in coalitions since the First World War. However, coalitions only function when their members have common interests. The goal of the upcoming combat in Iraq is to strengthen the United States. Our former coalition partners such as Germany and France, both of which are suffering severe economic downturns, do not want to see the United States strengthened. So, France and Germany have formed an “Axis of Weasel,” and will sit this one out as the United States and Britain fight the war against naked aggression.
The existence of our republic and our way of life is in jeopardy. We have no option but to depose Hussein, thus taking another step in preventing state-sponsored terrorism in the future.
Make no mistake; there will be casualties in this war. Civilians on both sides will die, and this war will not be short. The United States is under siege from an enemy that has a deep-rooted hatred of our values and our way of life, and they do not seem likely to change their minds. We have no choice but to systematically and strategically annihilate terrorist groups and any regimes that support them.
This generation must realize that wars cannot be fought without cost and without sacrifice. We should learn from our grandparents, the “greatest generation,” that war requires sacrifice; just as they righteously vanquished an immoral and evil enemy, so shall we.