My fellow Anthropology student, Nathan Brown, used a few quotes to support the notion that President Bush has led us into an unnecessary war. Let’s take a look at a few more quotes on the subject of Mr. Hussein’s imminent threat:

“One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line.” President Bill Clinton, February 4, 1998.

“He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has ten times since 1983.” Clinton National Security Advisor, Sandy Berger, February 18, 1998.

“Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process.” Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), December 16, 1998.

“We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country.” Al Gore, September 23, 2002.

“We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction.” Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA), September 27, 2002.

“…I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security.” Senator John Kerry (D-MA) October 9, 2002.

And I could go on and on with quotes by people who are now, in the name of political gamesmanship, denouncing President Bush for doing what had to be done, including such luminaries as Hillary Clinton and Kofi Annan.

It takes a special brand of gullibility to believe that, for the first time in recorded history, a tyrant capable of murdering an estimated 2 million of his own people, and using the now-denied WMD to do it, would suddenly deprive himself of that power voluntarily – particularly when he went to the extraordinary length of kicking the UN inspectors out. Does the myopic radar currently in vogue at the DNC and New York Times indicate that this is a man with nothing to hide? Did the discovery of over 20 MIG-29s buried in the sand last year indicate Hussein’s desire to be open and above board, and should that finding give a general warm and fuzzy feeling of security when the small size of a suitcase nuke and the huge amount of Iraqi sand are compared? Do pigs on Jupiter squaredance?

The Israelis bombed a nuclear facility in Iraq in 1981, fearing its potential use. We discovered WMD in Iraq after the Gulf War. The United Nations issued resolution after resolution regarding Saddam’s WMD. President Clinton bombed Iraq – either to address the WMD issue or cover for Monica-gate, take your pick – and he did so with the full support of his party and the United Nations. A great deal of fissionable material disappeared from the former Soviet Union after its breakup, probably secretly sold to the highest bidder. Two years ago, a truck carrying enough material to arm a rather nasty suitcase bomb was intercepted in Turkey, headed in the direction of Iraq – and that startling event made it all the way to page A-9 of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

No rap on Nathan; he’s a victim of our left-oriented media, who only wish to view the half of the story that suits their current political purpose, and only report half of what is being said by those in the know. But in deference to his concern for the 500 military dead we now mourn because of the current war, I’d like to refer back to the nearly 3,000 dead of September 11, 2001. They were not military, and they were not expecting to die. They were you and me, simply trying to make their way through a peaceful workday so they could go home to their families. They, and what happened that day, are a very big part of a startling equation. If we, as students in an institution of higher learning, become incapable of seeing through the verbal and literary haze the current pathetic crop of would-be commanders in chief and journalists have created – if we continue to think two plus two equals anything but four – that 3,000 could well be 3 million next time around.

And one more item: On November 11, 2001, the London Observer – a decidedly anti-Bush paper for the most part – established the connection between al-Qaeda and Iraq, complete with satellite images of an al-Qaeda training camp 25 miles southeast of Baghdad and the fuselage of a Boeing 707, where hijackers were trained. If it walks like a duck…

Dennis Fishel