Secondly, all of the troops in SA, and Kuwait, the no fly zones, and the sanctions,since 1991, are the specific reasons given by OBL for his jihad. Controlling Saddam, inadvertently gave rise to Al Qaeda. Keeping even more troops there will be even more caustic to the arabs.
The argument, however, that going to war with Iraq will increase the threat of terrorism in the United States may not be true. I think it clearly will in the short run. But in the long-term, an overwhelming defeat of Saddam Hussein may way have the [administration's] intended effect, which is to convince the Arab states that we can be a force for positive change.
The entire Middle East thinks we are planning to go to Iraq, sieze the oil, and set up a branch of the United States in Iraq. Once we have liberated Iraq, help the Iraqi people get on their feet, and for the most part left Iraq (which may be several years) I believe there will be a collective sigh of relief from EVERY nation in the area -- not only because we left, but because we removed the largest destablizing force in the region (NOT the Israelis, as some would have us think). |
