Bush cannot justify war on Iraq



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NEW STRAITS TIMES
Saturday, January 4, 2003

US daily blasts Bush’s stance

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 3: A US daily has criticised Washington’s foreign policy, saying that it has lost its logic in its approach towards Iraq.

The Los Angeles Times carried an article stating that it did not make sense for the US to target Iraq "when North Korea poses a greater threat".

"Forward air bases, army infantry units, a hospital ship and docile yet combat-trained reporters are all being readied for a ‘regime change' war against Iraq promoted as a way to rid the world of an arsenal Saddam Hussein doesn't seem to have," said the article written by Robert Sheer.

"That United Nations inspectors, even after American intelligence briefings, are coming up emptyhanded is embarrassing enough, but then North Korea had to steal the show by taking the wraps off its far more advanced nuclear weapons programme," he said.

Sheer also questioned the US' stand in the issue of weapons of mass destruction.

"The US, which unleashed the nuclear monster and is still the only nation to have used this deadliest weapon of mass destruction against innocent civilians, should also understand why other nations want one.

"It's a sick and ultimately suicidal obsession, but who are we to talk when we are designing ever more efficient nuclear weapons for preemptive use, underground ‘bunker busting' and God knows what else?" he said.

He said that the US continued to give legitimacy to the weapons of mass destruction "threatening devastating pre-emptive strikes, including possible use of nuclear weapons, against those who defiantly refuse to bend to the will of Washington".

"Meanwhile, the George Bush administration remains detached from the destabilising Israeli-Palestinian nightmare, is struggling to gain footing against al-Qaeda and is apparently indifferent to the successes of Muslim fundamentalism in Chechnya, Lebanon, Yemen, Palestine and Pakistan," he said.

Meanwhile, a British newspaper, the Guardian, said that Bush should call off the war against Iraq if he wanted to keep his promise of peace.

In an article yesterday, it highlighted Bush's remarks at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, that he was determined to avoid new conflicts.

"This Government will continue to lead the world toward more peace ... And we hope to resolve all the situations in which we find ourselves in a peaceful way. That‘s my commitment," he was quoted as saying.

The daily said that Iraq posed the biggest test of Bush's personal mettle.

"He has failed to persuade Americans, let alone the wider world, that Iraq poses a significant military threat to the region or to the US.

"The UN inspections have not been impeded, as Bush predicted they would be, and no evidence has yet been found that Iraq has lied.

"In short, Bush lacks just cause," it said, urging the US President to persevere with the UN process and call off the war. — Bernama


SOURCE:
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/N...82626/Article/


Original story by Robert Sheer at LA Times:
Foreign Policy Loses Its Logic:
It doesn't make sense to target Iraq when N. Korea poses a greater threat