The Case for Iraq

The Case for Iraq
By Tom Cole
August 2, 2004

As election year heats up, so has the partisan banter back and forth about the case for going to war in Iraq. Accusations are rampant and misinformation is plentiful. News coverage is mostly one-sided. And the new Michael Moore documentary presents speculation as fact, making finding the truth a difficult task.

Oklahomans understand and appreciate the brave and skillful actions of our military and our Commander in Chief. We ask a lot of our soldiers, but I believe it is because of their brave efforts that America today is a safer place. Because of their willingness to risk their lives in the service of our country, Saddam Hussein will no longer terrorize his neighbors or peaceful communities around the globe. I believe the case for going to Iraq is as sound and necessary as it was before the war. Intelligence may have been incomplete and imperfect, but it clearly indicated that Saddam sponsored terrorism, tortured and killed many innocent people and was interested in acquiring weapons of mass destruction.

There is no doubt that Iraq had clear ties to terrorism. Terrorists used Iraq as a sanctuary, for training, and as a source of supply. Saddam had longstanding, direct and continuing ties to a number of terrorist groups, including groups responsible for killing Americans. Saddam Hussein paid families of suicide bombers $25,000. He sheltered the Abu Nidal Organization, headquartered in Baghdad until 1983, which has been responsible for terrorist attacks in 20 countries that have killed or injured 900 people, including 12 Americans. The 9/11 Commission Report reveals an evolving relationship between Iraq and al-Qaeda, including contacts between senior Iraqi intelligence officers and senior members of al-Qaeda. It also reports that a senior Iraqi intelligence officer made three visits to Sudan, finally meeting Osama Bin Ladin in 1994. And, Iraqi intelligence documents indicate that Abdul Rahman Yasin, the Iraqi who has admitted to mixing the chemicals for the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993, was given safe haven and financial support in Iraq upon his return to Baghdad in 1993 until shortly before the Iraq war.

Saddam Hussein's record as a threat to peace and his history of using weapons of mass destruction, including chemical and biological agents, dictated that America act when we did. Saddam twice invaded neighboring Muslim nations. Moreover, the mass graves and torture chambers Coalition forces have discovered make it clear that he terrorized his own people. He gassed thousands of his own Kurdish subjects, poisoned the environment of those Arab marsh tribes who opposed his rule and looted his country of its wealth. With the capture of Saddam Hussein on December 13th, 2003, the United States took a large step towards closing a terrible chapter in human history.

Saddam Hussein has actively pursued and employed weapons of mass destruction since the 1980's. Former Weapons Inspector David Kay said, "He was putting more money into his nuclear program. He was pushing ahead his long-range missile program as hard as he could. Look, the man had the intent to acquire these weapons; he invested huge amounts of money in them. The fact is he wasn't successful." After the first Gulf War in 1991, the United Nations and Coalition forces found many stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction. At the end of June 2004, military officials had uncovered some 8,700 weapons depots and estimated that they contain between 650,000 and 1 million tons of arms.

The most important lesson the United States learned from September 11th was that we must confront threats to our nation before it is too late. We must be more proactive, and less reactive. It is in this manner that Saddam Hussein was eliminated as a threat to the Middle East and the United States. Americans should be confident that we did the right thing for ourselves, for the Iraqi people and for the entire world when we removed Saddam Hussein from power.