Nobody is in favor of war, or killing innocent people, or destroying property. War should always come as the last resort, and I believe that last resort is upon us.
I believe that Iraq has biological and chemical weapons in its arsenal. Iraq has not given any evidence to support the destruction or whereabouts of said weapons. I believe it is Iraq's strategy to hide what they don't want inspectors to see, and deny any wrongdoing. If they are good enough at deception, they know peace favoring nations will be hard pressed to support violence in a region that has already suffered.
It's the best strategy for Saddam to follow. He keeps his Trump Card, to use either directly against lesser foes, or to pass along to any worldwide terrorist group that pleases him. Pleasing to him, is the death of anyone from the West. He has openly supported terrorist activities, as long as Israelis or Christians are the target.
The United Nations passed resolution 1441 which stated that Iraq must immediately turn over all information on its WMD programs, and it offered an accepted timeline. That timeline has come and gone. Any timeline will come and go. Simply put, that's Saddams current M.O. and always will be.
Without military action the very real possibility of Iraq's weapons ending up on American soil exists. Thousands of Americans have already been killed by terrorists over the last few years (can France say that?). Also, without military action the United Nation's credibility suffers.
I say invade Iraq with overwhelming force and speed. Such a tactic will cause Republican Guard soldiers to throw down their arms and join the good guys on the march towards Baghdad. Bomb every Presidential palace and you will hear squeals of delight from every average Iraqi citizen. If Saddam has and uses WMD during the attack, won't that only prove that we were right in the first place?
Due to the high price of warfare, we should continue to inspect and work with Iraq until they are no longer a threat to themselves or the rest of the world. Progress is being made, even if it's not at the speed we'd like to see. We helped make the deadlines; we can surely amend our handiwork.
IF we attack Iraq tomorrow, how long will that take? How many lives on both sides will be lost? How long after that will Americans have to stay there until we are satisfied there is no longer a danger? How much will this cost us in total?
I say let's direct our tax dollars at the problem from a different angle. Step up inspections one-hundred fold. Put so many United Nations people in the country that building weapons becomes implausible, and well hid for that long unlikely. Do it for five years. Compare the cost of human life and military spending with that of an all out attack. Compare the timeframe. Wait out Saddam Hussein. How long can he live anyway?
Last but not least, do we really want to give Terrorists any more reasons to rally their troops? There are probably hundreds of young men on the fence as to whether or not to get involved with these scumbags. I say, let's not hand them more amunition, but instead an olive branch. All I am saying, is give peace a chance...
We need to ask ourselves a sobering question. Why the hell do so many nations hate us? One of the main reasons you will find is this. Other countries are tired of us instilling our will at them or their neighbors. America has bases all over the globe. Why is this? It is to serve as Earth's police department and protect our interests. I say enough is enough. When I count to three, everyone grab your stuff and come the hell home! One... two... three, let's go!
The world today is so much smaller than it was fifty years ago after WWII. Back then we actually needed a presence throughout the world. Not today. We have the means to be anywhere in a period of HOURS. There really isn't the need anymore to have bases on every continent.
What would happen if we just said "The hell with it, we're outta here?" Arabs would be very happy, and really not have any reason to hate us. Israel would still exist, because on our way out we would politely state (much like a father to a noisy child at bedtime) that if "we have to come back, you aren't going to be happy" with the results. We could take all those resources and take care of our own boarders here in America.
We'd save an assload of money. Our economy would soar. People would like us and not want so much to harm us.
I say let the rest of the world kill themselves if that's what they want to do. We need to take care of business here at home! Let's take a hands-off approach to the world, and only deal with countries that like us or want our goods. Left alone, the globe will only prosper under a capitalist mindset. They don't need to have it rammed down their throats!