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Statement
on the War in Iraq
March 21, 2003
By the Editors
We oppose this war.
We find it difficult to believe George W. Bush's claim that
he has attacked Iraq reluctantly.
This administration has spent months attempting to convince
the American people that Saddam Hussein is in some way responsible
for 9/11. It has spent weeks in front of the U.N. arguing
for war, going so far as to offer false information at key
presentations. It has consistently ignored the reports of
Hans Blix and the U.N. weapons inspectors. In the hurry to
conquer Iraq, this administration has vilified nations and
people who would urge caution.
We are told that we must invade Iraq to prevent further terrorist
attacks, when top intelligence officials agree that an invasion
will likely increase the possibility of such attacks.
We are told that we must invade Iraq to prevent the spread
of weapons of mass destruction, when evidence of Iraq's possession
of such weapons is unclear. We are told that Saddam Hussein
is a brutal dictator and we must liberate his people, when
there are many brutal dictators around the globe who are are
guilty of the same crimes — the Bush administration even
considers some of them our allies.
The United States stands virtually alone in the world right
now. The actions of George W. Bush — supposedly a uniter,
not a divider — have alienated the vast majority of people
on this planet and caused turmoil, division, finger-pointing
and anger against the United States. Anti-American terrorists
must be dancing for joy.
There is no doubt that Saddam Hussein is a brutal dictator,
but we believe that the U.N. inspections should have been
given more time. The United States sets a dangerous precedent
when we attack first — a precedent which, sadly, our
enemies will likely be only too happy to exploit.
We strongly support our troops, who are bravely putting their
lives on the line in Iraq. They did not choose this war, nor
are they responsible for it. We hope and pray that they can
return home safely to their families as soon as possible.
We hope casualties on both sides can be minimized, especially
among civilians.
For the moment, we are taking a break from publishing articles
on our homepage. We will resume publication when we feel it
is appropriate, so feel free to submit articles. The message
board will remain open.
We expect the traffic to this website to increase dramatically
as a result of this war. In an effort to minimize our bandwidth,
we have removed many of the graphical and design elements
from our pages. Once traffic decreases somewhat, DU will return
to the way it looked before.
— The Administrators of Democratic Underground
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