Editorial: It's time for war

For the past 12 years, Saddam Hussein has defied the terms of his surrender in the Gulf War, violating countless United Nations resolutions while surreptitiously building weapons of mass destruction. At the same time, Hussein has repressed and impoverished the Iraqi people, trampling them under his tyrannical heel in his megalomanical pursuits. More recently, Hussein has violated U.N. Resolution 1441, has ignored the pleas of the international community to disarm and has refused to step down as Iraq's leader.

No more. As President George W. Bush made clear in his address to the nation last night, the time for diplomacy is over and the time has come to remove Hussein from power by force. Bush's reasons for going to war are clear and compelling. Ultimately, the purpose of military action is to effect regime change by removing Hussein from power. The reasons for this change are partially humanitarian: Hussein has ruthless oppressed and murdered his own people, having even used chemical weapons against Iraqis. Rather than letting this deplorable situation, the U.S. will liberate the Iraqi people.

Hussein also presents a clear and present danger to both the United States and the Middle East. He has stockpiled and continues to develop weapons of mass destruction and has refused to disarm or to cooperate with U.N. weapons inspectors. Hussein has also shown that he is willing to use these horrific weapons. Moreover, Hussein has aided and abetted terrorism, both in the form of supporting Palestinian suicide bombers and, very probably, assisting al Qaeda.

Bush has clearly and forcefully outlined these reasons to remove Hussein from power to the international community and has made good faith efforts to work with the U.N. and the United States' traditional allies in Europe and elsewhere to confront Hussein. Unfortunately, many members of the international community refuse to face reality, leaving the United States, Britain and a handful of other countries to deal with Iraq. Americans must realize that war is necessary and that American casualties are an inevitable, tragic consequence of war. Moreover, Americans must prepare for the possibility of a counter-attack, but should remain confident that removing Hussein will vastly improve geo-political stability and security in the future.

The fact that the United Nations refuses to enforce its own resolutions and refuses to punish Hussein for his flaunting of the international community's demands is a black-eye for the U.N. While the U.N. retains a prominent role in world politics as a forum for discussion and as a mediator in international disputes, its refusal to confront Iraq calls into question the U.N.'s role as an effective body for executing and enforcing policy, forcing the U.S. to make the world a safer place.

The refusal of traditional allies such as France and Germany to support the war is especially disheartening. While the world benefits from having strong advocates for peace, France and Germany's refusal to support the war on Iraq is cowardly. What is sickening is that these countries support Iraq because of their commercial interest, meaning they will let Hussein murder the Iraqi people to make a few bucks.

Fortunately, the U.S. is ready, willing and able to step up and do what is right. At the same time however, Bush and his administration should have done more to try to gather international support. But, even if the rest of the world remains in paralyzed inaction, the U.S. should do what is right while fighting the machinations of the despotic Hussein.