Good…Bad…Bush Will Be Holding The Smoking Gun In Feb

by John Hawkins | January 9, 2003 10:08 pm

Good…Bad…Bush Will Be Holding The Smoking Gun In Feb: I’m sure some people[1] are already starting to worry that Bush isn’t going to order an invasion of Iraq in Feb. After all, the UN inspectors said[2] today that, “there’s no “smoking gun” to prove Iraq has nuclear, chemical or biological weapons.” Also today it’s being said that, “Britan[3] is pressing for war against Iraq to be delayed for several months, possibly until the autumn, to give weapons inspectors more time to provide clear evidence of new violations by Saddam Hussein.”

But, there’s no need to sweat it, Hussein has already violated the latest UN Resolution seven ways from Sunday. We already know Hussein claimed that he has no weapons of mass destruction and didn’t explain what happened to the weapons he had before. Buried in the latest story (linked above) about there being, “no smoking gun” it’s been revealed that Hussein has been refusing to give the inspectors full access to Iraqi scientists and has “imported missile engines and raw material for the production of solid missile fuel in violation of UN resolution.” Then we have to consider that Hussein breached the resolution by firing at our planes and despite claims to the contrary, the UN inspectors have already found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq that haven’t been destroyed (mustard gas[4] in artillery shells for those who have forgotten).

So when you couple all those breaches with the Resolution from Congress that Bush has, he has the authority to go to war if he so chooses..and he will with or without the UN (it’ll be with however). Even if Bush weren’t inclined to invade Iraq, he doesn’t have much of a choice at this point. We can’t afford to have all those troops sitting around in the desert twiddling their thumbs indefinitely, certainly not until Autumn. Moreover, politically Bush can’t afford to drag his feet anymore. There are lot of people in the GOP who wanted to hit Iraq this summer and there are plenty more who thought it was a mistake to go through the UN to begin with. So if early Feb comes and goes and it looks like nothing is happening except more pointless inspections, a lot of Conservatives are going to start turning on Bush and his commitment to the war on terrorism will be questioned. As Trent Lott could probably tell you, having your own party turn on you is a terrible thing indeed. That’s why we’re going to Iraq soon, come Hell or high water. The only likely thing I can think of that could possibly stop us would be if Saddam and his sons abdicated. There are rumors about that floating around right now, but it’s hard to tell how much credence to give them.

So never fear, Saddam’s days are numbered and he’ll be blown to bits, locked up in a cell, or taking the next twenty years off in some Middle-Eastern backwater sooner rather than later.