A/N: This is an editorial on the War in Iraq that I wrote for my term paper at school.  It got a 98 so I think it’s pretty good. Please review
                                   The Preservation of Freedom

War is a complicated thing. No one is ever happy when diplomacy fails and conflict is necessary, but sometimes that is what happens. America tried to resolve the confrontation with Iraq through negotiation with the United Nations for over ten years. During these ten plus years, Iraq promised to comply with each of the 17 U.N. Security Council resolutions filed against them. All throughout these attempts by the US to avoid war, Iraq built up its illegal weapons arsenal, strengthened its ties with terrorists’ organizations, and increased its brutality against its own people. One of these points alone could constitute a just war, but when you add them together it makes the answer crystal clear. Diplomacy failed; the time to act had come.
          Benjamin Franklin said, "When you see a rattlesnake poised to strike, you do not wait until it has struck to squash it." This explains everything there is to know about the war in Iraq. The only declaration of war that would have come against us from Saddam Hussein would have been in the form of thousands of dead Americans and I am not ready to give up one American life in the interests of keeping up a good public image.

There is no question to whether or not Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Even countries that were opposed to the war (France, Germany, Russia) admitted that Iraq had illegal weapons. The weapons in question were outlawed by Security Council resolutions that all the countries involved adopted. Since the end to all major fighting in Iraq, the troops have been able to look for WMDs and other illegal arms more thoroughly. They have found several different things that have broken numerous resolutions but they have been passed off by critics as illegitimate or insufficient. The unlawful weapons include mobile bio-chemical labs, missiles that exceeded the UN mandated range, and illegal missile launchers disguised as regular trucks so that the weapons inspectors would not give it a second look. The entire world agreed that these weapons were not safe in the hands of Saddam Hussein, but it appears that only the Untied States and the other members of the coalition forces had the courage to stand up to defend the restrictions that the United Nations set forth.

This concern about weapons of mass destruction is not new. On December 16, 1998, then President Bill Clinton launched an assault that in his own words was aimed at attacking, "Iraq's nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs." While this mission was a step in the right direction, later in his presidency Clinton admitted that the threat from Hussein still remained.

With the evidence that exists as to the whether or not the weapons are in the hands of Saddam, I believe that the real question about the WMDs is whether or not he will use them. The answer to this question is clearly 'yes'. Saddam Hussein has shown that he has no remorse. During the Iran-Iraq war Hussein ordered missiles with chemical warheads on them to be fired at Iranian soldiers. Veterans of the first Gulf War still have mysterious symptoms that cannot be explained by even the best doctors. Over a span of 15 years, 400,000 Iraqis have been recorded dead by the chemical weapons Saddam used during the Kurdish uprisings (and sometimes just to 'test' his new weapons) and a countless amount of children have been born with gross defects. This snake had bit before, and he was poised to do it again. We were left with no choice but to squash him.   

Even with the absence of a direct threat to America, sometimes as the only super power left in the world we find ourselves in a unique situation. When does the grotesque treatment of a foreign countries civilians by a dictator override that nation's sovereignty? I believe that when you can see mass graves filled with men, women, and children's skulls with blindfolds over their eyes and bullet holes in their heads it is time to act. When I listen to the stories of the survivors of Saddam's secret torture chambers I cannot help but feel that something needs to be done. UN resolutions and humanitarian groups clearly weren't stopping the gruesome methods used by Saddam to gain confessions from people. Parents were made to watch their children be raped and tortured in front of them until they would make false confessions. Men were tied to the ceiling with their arms behind their backs to the point where one man lost all the mobility in his arms for good. Doctors were shot if they did not perform horrific surgeries and amputations on torture victims. There is an endless list of unspeakable acts of Human Rights violations committed by Saddam and I don't see how a good man could sit aside and watch these acts go unpunished.

Iraq's connection with terrorists, particularly Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda is the least concrete, but still evident, reason that justifies this war. The most tangible evidence supporting the idea that there was a connection between Iraq and bin Laden's terror network was not found by soldiers or weapons inspectors but by a reporter for an English newspaper. There was official documentation of a meeting between high ranking Iraqi intelligence officials and a senor member of Al Qaeda. The meeting was reportedly about establishing connections between Saddam and Osama. Both sides agreed that because of their shared hatred for the United States, Israel, and Saudi Arabia they could establish a bond to fight the "infidels."

There was another note carried from a top Al Qaeda member to Saddam signed by bin Laden and addressed to "MDA", a name that has been confirmed by Israeli, British, and American intelligence agencies as a code name often used by Saddam. Their common interests and goals would logically lead someone to believe that there may be a connection between the two, and these pieces of evidence seem to confirm that suspicion.

No one wants to go to war. But with all the evidence against Iraq and Saddam Hussein's continued display of disregard for human life, we were left with no choice but to disarm him and remove him from a seat of power in Iraq. The men and women involved in Operation: Iraqi Freedom should be proud. They did their job swiftly, quickly, and precisely, and the world is now a safer place because of them.