Sometimes what is not said is more important than a well crafted sound bite. This is always true when classified sources of information must be protected from harm. In the current screechings of the Saddam apologists, they continue to shout their mantra "show us proof" in order to earn their support. Only those who choose to discount the facts that are known as well as to challenge the veracity of the President and his administration can tell us why such behavior is righteous in their own minds. For the rest of us (at least me), we sit in stunned disbelief at their display of stupidity.
Saddam Hussein is the leader of Iraq. His nation is at war with the United States and has been since January 17, 1991. This ongoing state of war is the result of Saddam's refusal to meet the conditions of Iraq's surrender at the end of the Gulf War. Rather than invade Iraq, a strategic move than did not have the support of coalition members at the time, President Bush halted combat operations against Iraqi forces and forced Saddam's generals to the negotiating table to sign a surrender document that included conditions set forth by the United Nations and clearly supported by members of the coalition forces that defeated Saddam and his army of thugs. These are the facts and no amount of protesting can change that.
Further evidence that a state of war exists between Iraq and the United States can be seen in the almost daily destruction of radar sites that attempt to target US aircraft enforcing the no-fly zone over northern and southern Iraq. If Iraq was conforming to the terms of its surrender document, hostile actions against US aircraft would not be taking place. Inspections to confirm the destruction of weapons listed by the United Nations as items that Iraq could not possess have turned up several of the banned items...Iraq has not destroyed all these items despite having 12 years to do so. Just because Saddam has not employed these weapons against other nations in the region doesn't mean he won't...just because Saddam has not be caught providing these weapons or components to terrorists doesn't mean he won't or hasn't...just because Saddam says he has complied with all the UN resolutions demanding he disarm doesn't mean he has. In fact, any rational person, observing the behavior and rhetoric of Saddam as the dictator of a nation without freedom would have to conclude that this guy is a threat to the United States and should be eliminated sooner rather than later.
You haven't heard the Bush administration saying that Saddam must be eliminated...you have heard the President call for disarming Iraq and liberating the Iraqi people from the oppression of Saddam's brutal rule (regime change is the current tem du jour for this liberation idea).
Strategy is a very cold and calculated science...holding the high ground, imposing control over critical lines of communication, and forcing the enemy to fight on your terms are a few of the rules of strategic (and tactical) planning. Early in the war on terrorism, President Bush defined the Axis of Evil as Iraq, Iran, and North Korea.
One of the other elements of strategy is to surround your enemy so that it can be contained. The strategy of containment worked well throughout the Cold War. You haven't heard President Bush use this term to describe the strategy that will ultimately lead to an overthrow of the repressive Iranian theocracy by internal Iranian forces seeking freedom and democracy, but again, I remind you that sometimes what is not being said is more important than what is being said.
Think about it in the case of Iran...on the eastern border lie two countries aligned with the United States, Afghanistan and Pakistan...to the south lies the Persian Gulf (controlled by the US Navy)...to the north lies the Caspian Sea and several countries that I collectively call the 'Stans and with whom the United States has negotiated security agreements. The only border across which terrorists could freely move was the Iraqi border. In spite of the mutual hatred between Iraq and Iran, they share a common enemy in their eyes...the United States. This shared enemy allowed them to cooperate when it came time to support and supply terrorists who needed national support for training and equipping their operatives.
After Iraq has been liberated and Saddam eliminated, Iran will find itself surrounded by countries friendly to the objectives of the United States. It will find new radio towers transmitting news in Farsi from just outside its borders...it will find Iranians committed to a free Iran subverting the authority of the Mullahs who direct a campaign of hated and vilification against the US, a nation that defended muslims in Bosnia...a nation that has demonstrated restraint in the face of an act of war against innocent civilians on September 11 on US territory. Iran will find itself under a psychological siege unlike anything the United States has ever done before.
Finally, with Iran surrounded and its other customers (Iraq and Afghanistan) no longer in need of war materials from North Korea, the North Koreans will find the market for international sales of weapons very small...possibly even nonexistent. The economy of North Korea will be forced to compete in the classic environment of capitalism in order to sell anything...weapons or no. If the world is smart, a united effort to boycott North Korea products until they renounce nuclear weapons and eliminate their nuclear program capabilities would force the North Koreans to starve or comply. Since North Korea is effectively surrounded on three sides by opposing forces, it is unlikely they would invade South Korea even if it had a nuclear bomb...why? because using their nukes would invoke open season on North Korea and millions of North Koreans would die in the retaliatory strikes not to mention the pollution from such hostilities which would certainly affect China and Japan.
Despite the angry words of Kim Sung Il, the nepotistic dictator of North Korea, his generals and the Chinese will restrain him enough to avoid tactical engagement with the United States. North Korea will pose a nuclear threat to the stability of the region...this may be a fact in the near future. However, such a threat will be tempered by China and Japan...the former is a trading partner with the US and will not jeopardize its current financial arrangements with the US...the latter has the potential to create industry and lots of jobs in North Korea. In conclusion, you haven't heard President Bush talk about the US Army stationed on the DMZ and the US naval presence in the waters adjacent to North Korea and a boycott of North Korean products...especially weapons, by members of the United Nations.
Maybe we should start calling the President "Silent George" for his lack of comments on our long term strategies for the Middle East. Nah-h-h-h! I like his ad-libs too much.
Remember you heard it here first, silence protects security sources and hides strategic plans...it also means that Saddam should be very afraid.
Rip Kirby
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