Iraq and Terrorism

By Kevin Bastian

We need to return to a foreign policy of non-intervention, peace, and free trade. Attacking Iraq is not only unnecessary, it is wrong and very much against our national interests. We need to stop creating enemies of the United States. And we don't have to trade away our precious liberties to be secure.

I am appalled at President Bush's actions lately. First of all, I am totally against attacking Iraq. They have not attacked us. They have not threatened to attack us. There is no evidence that they had anything to do with 9/11. Even the Bush administration has stopped trying to make that linkage. The CIA recently testified before Congress that Iraq posed no threat to the U.S., UNLESS they believed a U.S. attack were imminent and inevitable. So what do we do? Our president makes it clear for months that he intends to attack Iraq, with or without U.N. approval. We're just begging for trouble!

Bush's new first-strike foreign policy is INSANE! It goes against everything the U.S. stands for. This policy that says that if we THINK a nation MIGHT have weapons that they MIGHT use against us, Bush wants us to attack them first. This is a prescription for Armageddon! If all nations adopt this doctrine, almost every nation will be attacking every other nation, and we will be embroiled in the third (and no doubt final!) world war. We must change this foreign policy, and I will work hard to do so if I am elected on Nov. 5.

Terrorism

First and foremost, we need to return to a foreign policy of non-intervention, peace, and free trade. If we stop interfering in the affairs of other countries, we will gradually stop creating so many enemies and terrorists. If we change our belligerent foreign policy, bring our troops home from around the world, and focus on national DEfense instead of national OFfense, we will show the people of the world and their governments that we are no longer a threat to their existence, religions, and chosen lifestyles. And if we stop waging economic war with other nations through boycotts and embargoes, and instead engage in free trade with ALL nations, regardless of their politics or anything else, we will build positive relationships and interdependencies with the rest of the world. This will help promote freedom and human rights far better than our current policies, and will make it far less likely that any nation or group would wish us harm.

Certainly we need to be diligent in fighting domestic terrorism, but we can do so without infringing on everyone's liberties and rights. We should NOT be willing to trade off our hard-earned freedoms for increased security. Millions of Americans have fought and died to gain and preserve our precious liberties. Why are we so willing to let terrorists make us give up many of these freedoms just because it MIGHT save a few lives? Even if it did so, it wouldn't be worth the price! Why save a few dozen, a few hundred, or even a few thousand American lives at the price of our liberties and way of life? We must regain our perspective, remember what our nation is all about, and remember what previous Americans had to do to win the freedoms we now enjoy. If we are to live in an open and free society, there will always be risks. But that is far preferable to the alternative.