Letter: Invading Iraq not wise now

Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2002 | 8:55 a.m.

With all due respect to the U.S. efforts in Afghanistan, and upon further reflection, there is reason to question the purpose of a further attempt to limit terrorism by invading Iraq.

The war in Afghanistan resulted in causing a great deal of damage to the country's limited infrastructure, the killing of a significant number of innocent citizens, in addition to a ragtag bunch of ignorant foot soldiers in an army located in a very isolated place, and failed to get the main alleged perpetrator of a horrendous crime on the other side of the world. And, of course, there were U.S. casualties as well.

One might get the feeling that George W. Bush, whose father's antipathy for Saddam Hussein is legend, wants to please Dad and secure his place in history by going after another ruler of an "evil empire" by orchestrating an attack on Iraq. Published estimates of such a move have run as high as $60 billion.

Would an attack on Iraq, not likely to be condoned by many of our European allies, not to mention friendly Arab states, be a reasonable act? At the present time, the U.S. economy is in a difficult situation. Additionally, there are other military concerns and threats to U.S. interests around the globe, both real and imagined, in the eyes of the Bush administration.

Patriotism should have to do with developing a balanced strategy to protect U.S. interests, and not alienating our allies. Evil will continue to exist at the end of the day, and that is a reality we should be prepared to accept. Only in Hollywood do they always get the bad guy. In the real world, we have a country to support, and on a limited budget.

ERIC STEFIK