-by Aaron
Despite how politically controversial the War on Terrorism has been since its inception, I firmly believe that Operation Iraqi Freedom was the correct mission to undertake directly after the conclusion of major battles in Afghanistan. Americans have seemingly forgotten the events that have led to our current situation of war in the Middle East. Because of this, citizens have vociferously questioned the validity of the invasion. The facts are needed to maintain complete historical accuracy.
Back in September of 2001, the United States was attacked by 19 Saudi Arabian terrorists; President Bush swiftly took action against Afghanistan, a country which unequivocally harbored al-Qaeda leaders and training camps. Despite what is common thought on Main Street, USA, Hussein did have connections to al-Qaeda. According to the 9/11 Commission Report, “friendly contacts” and “numerous high-level meetings” between Saddam Hussein's regime and al-Qaeda terrorists took place. The position of this report, which was compiled by, according to 9-11commission.gov, an “independent, bi-partisan commission,” runs contrary to the position of the Clinton administration and Richard Clark, a former White House terrorism “czar.”
The “Butcher of Baghdad” sponsored terrorism and encouraged “martyrdom” in the teaching of radical Islam. For example, Deroy Murdock, a media fellow at Stanford University and publisher of husseinandterror.com, states that Hussein gave “bonuses” of “up to $25,000 to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers.” Tariq Aziz, the deputy prime minister in Hussein’s former regime, confirmed the validity of this. Also, in Disinformation by Richard Miniter, a group created to “moderate Kurds” – to control and kill them – was founded with the “joint help of Saddam Hussein” and al-Qaeda; money was given from both groups for the same common goal. Hussein also provided safe haven for terrorists around the world. Murdock says that Abu Abba, an Iraqi-supported terrorist who hi-jacked a passenger cruise ship in 1985, was found in Iraq. Abu Nidel, who attacked a ticket counter at Rome’s Leonardo de Vinci airport, killed 17 people in 1985. Five Americans were killed in that attack in the airport. Harboring these villains violated UN Security Council Resolution 687, which strictly forbade this action.
Saddam’s regime did have weapons of mass destruction – just not in the amounts thought. As it is written in Disinformation, US forces “seized 1.77 metric tons of enriched uranium,” which is used to “make fuel for atomic bombs.” On August 8, 2005, American soldiers found “1,500 gallons of chemical agents.” How those agents got to Iraq is still being debated. And in May of 2004, a roadside bomb with mustard gas inside was found; this gas is thought to “be part of the eighty tons of such gas still unaccounted for.” Apparently, Senator John Kerry believed also so on January 23, 2003 in a speech while campaigning for president: “…he is miscalculating America’s response to… his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction… the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real.” Clinton National Security Advisor said this on February 18, 1998: “He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has ten times since 1983.” And Senator Ted Kennedy had this to say: “We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction.” George W. Bush was not the only one to say Saddam had WMDs.
It is a positive that America took action against one of the world’s most formerly dangerous men. The political outcry has been deafening, but Americans have accomplished tasks more difficult than this. The disinformation pervading common thought and media is something that must be corrected very soon, and it can be done with the straight facts.
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