War and the Iraq Dilemma: Facing Harsh Realities
Abstract
The tragic events of 11 September 2001 have given Americans a painful reminder of the evil that men are capable of inflicting on others, as Reinhold Niebuhr warned long ago, witnessing the destruction wrought by Nazi Germany. The World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks dealt heavy blows to the American liberalism that sees humankind as perfectible and on a steady historical march toward democracy and international peace. That dark day jarred American innocence and alerted us to the hatred of the United States that seethes in the Middle East and the lengths to which adversaries will go to harm our citizens and interests. The day should serve as a loud wake-up call that adversaries want to inflict massive devastation on the United States and would be able to accomplish this task more readily if armed with chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear weapons. Al Qaeda was working feverishly along these lines, judging from documents and plans captured in the Afghanistan campaign. Other sub-state actors may follow al Qaeda's lead. The substantial infrastructure needed to support weapons of mass destruction programs -- particularly for nuclear weapons -- and their delivery systems such as aircraft and ballistic missiles, however, will likely remain more within the reach of nation-states than sub-state actors. President Bush and his national security lieutenants -- Vice President Cheney, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Powell, and National Security Adviser Rice -- are all effective, plain-speaking individuals, and they ought to play to their strong suit and speak plainly about Iraq. They should describe an American military campaign to overthrow Saddam as a continuation of the Gulf War -- one of necessity, not choice -- rather than as a continuation of the war on terrorism set in motion by al Qaeda.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2002
- Accession Number
- ADA597386
Entities
People
- Richard L. Russell
Organizations
- Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies