More on Iraq

Note that the link in yesterday's post will now direct you to an article which begins with a report on Colin Powell's visit to Halabja, Iraq, yesterday. After the first four paragraphs, there is basically a repeat of the article which ran yesterday morning on the CBSnews.com site. At present, I cannot link to the original article.

However, Kriselda at different strings led me to a similar article at the Washinton Post (the Post site requires registration).

In the report on Powell's visit, the Secretary of State pledges that atrocities such as the chemical gassing of Kurds at Halabja in '88 will never happen again. The article notes that the atrocity was more likely perpetrated by the Iranians than by Saddam.

Secretary Powell's quotes imply a justification for the war — that the Iraqis are now free of Hussein's tyranny. What that implication ignores, however, is that the nation is currently in a state of anarchy which is likely to continue for the forseeable future.

America has never been in the business of deposing tyrants. We typically attack based as much on the basis of pragmatic business concerns as philosophical beliefs. The Pentagon Papers make clear the Viet Nam conflict had more to do with that country's natural resources than an idealistic concern for democracy. Many believe this conflict has more to do with oil than Iraqi freedom — and I suspect documents will be discovered within the next five years that substantiate that belief.