It will be interesting to see what the "final" report from the Chief Weapons Inspector will contain.
It has been said that the final report, due out next month, will conclude that "the former regime had no formal written strategy or plan for the revival of WMD." Iraq did not pose a threat to it's immediate neighbours, nor to the United States or the international community at large. Faulty Intelligence provided by Western Intelligence agencies resulted in Bush making a poor decision to go to war. Mario argues that: "All he (referring to Saddam Hussein) had to do keep his dictatorship was to prove to UN inspectors that there were no WMDs in Iraq. If he had done this the sanctions would have been lifted and the coalition that wanted the regime change would have had to look for another excuse." (sic) One cannot forget that the President also had the choice of allowing the 250 Weapons Inspectors to continue their investigation and verify the data compiled and submitted as evidence at the United Nations (to be more specific, there were 20 claims made by Secretary of state Colonel Powell that have yet to be proven). Instead, President Bush (in all his infinite wisdom) decided that America would enter into war. No matter where your political leanings fall on the political spectrum, most people will agree that all avenues of diplomacy should be exhausted before a state decides that war is the only option on the table. So where do we stand at this moment in time? -We know that 1,300 American soldiers have died since March 2003 and that 10,000 American soldiers are wounded. -We know that unemployment in Iraq stands at 70% but we don't know of exactly how many Iraqis are dead because of the war/occupation. -The Web site www.iraqibodycount.net estimates the civilian death toll somewhere between 15,000 and 17,000 people. One news source states that "we do not know the true figure because the occupation authorities still refuse to count the number of Iraqi dead". Maybe someone could verify whether this statement is indeed true. -Much of the infrastructure in Iraq is destroyed and or damaged. -Al-Qaida is alive and well in Iraq vis-a-vis Al-Abu Musab Zarqawi and Al-Tawhid wa’al-Jihad. (Note that news sources have cited that this group could be rsponsible for dividing Iraq into several "emirates" and thus are contibuting to state of anarchy in Iraq). -insurgents are trying to inflame sectarian tensions by using violence. As an occupying power, the United States is currently responsible for Iraq and its 25 million people. This portion of history will invariably impact future foreign policy decisions, especially when it involves the decision by a nation-state to take "pre-emptive action". Regards, GKB __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com
