Saddam Hussein has been captured and this is a very good thing. He led a ruthless regime that engaged in systematic mass murder, torture and other barbarisms. He will now be held to account before the bar of justice. But should we not take a reckoning of the cost of bringing this about?
The war that resuited in Saddam’s capture was promoted by the administration and approved by Congress based on “intelligence” concerning Iraq’s supposod weapons of mass destruction that we now know was fraudulent. No WMD or any traces have been found. Thus, a significant cost of Saddam’s capture was that this country suffered the duplicity of its leaders. Also, no link has been found between Iraq and the 9/11 murderers. A more important cost was the human one. Hundreds of American and other coalition soldiers have died, many more have been wounded and maimed, and thousands of Iraqi lives have been destroyed. Iraq has been devastated and it will take many more lives, many billions of U.S. taxpayers’ dollars and many years before Iraq is stabilized. Moreover, Iraq is now a magnet attracting terrorists from all over the Mid-East.
Why are not any of our political leaders, particularly the contenders for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, asking the question: Was it worth it?
Henry Pollard