Quote:
Originally posted by ScottSolomon
"it was difficult to believe that Saddam had the capacity to hit us".
|
Saddam's ability to directly attack us was not the issue as I understood it. His ability to hand off WOMDs, many of which are very difficult to track, to terrorists *was* the reason. That's why I supported this war.
As Colin Powell explained in the Feb 5 "show and tell" to the UN, a small amount of the Anthrax toxin did enormous damage. Enough to effectively shut down the post office and the Senate for a couple of weeks. What I was fearful of , as well as a substancial number of Americans, was that we would see these weapons/materials imported for use against us. Our economy is fragile and the possibility that people might become victims of terror WOMDs would seriously damage the economy, even if the chances of being directly affected are slim. Look at what the DC sniper did for the local economy. What were the true chances of being shot by malvo? Much less than being capped by the natives, but people stopped spending. It made a big difference, terror WOMDs would be exponentially worse.
Given the physical makeup of these substances, it would be extremely difficult to keep them out. Hell, we can't even keep Mexicans from sneaking over here in masses, how could we detect and intercept vials of chem or bio weapons? We aren't set up for that thorough of inspection at the ports etc. That would cost a fortune to set up the security and increase the cost of almost everything. Just look at the fustercluck the "new and improved" airline security has cost and caused.
Whether the true possibility of al-qeada getting Saddam's WOMDs is high or low, that's why *I* supported this massive, expensive military action.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,81023,00.html
"Preventing Saddam from aiding terrorists is seen by a plurality as the most important reason to take military action. By a three-to-one margin Americans say the top reason for action is to keep Iraq from supplying weapons to terrorists, with 14 percent say the most important reason is to promote democracy and human rights and 10 percent say to secure oil supplies. Twenty percent say it is a combination of these."