Editorial: Terrorism in Iraq is taking its toll

Thursday, Aug. 21, 2003 | 8:31 a.m.

In recent weeks Americans have been reminded again just how dangerous it is in Iraq as the United States continues its occupation there. On Tuesday terrorists blew up part of a United Nations compound in Baghdad, killing at least 20 people, including the U.N.'s top envoy in Iraq. That bombing followed one two weeks ago at the Jordanian Embassy in Baghdad, a blast that killed 17 people. In addition, there have been deadly guerrilla attacks against U.S. military troops in Iraq almost every other day for a couple of months now.

No group has yet taken responsibility for Tuesday's attack -- and we don't know yet if the strikes are being coordinated between Saddam loyalists and foreign terrorists -- but it's obvious that they're intended to create even more misery for the Iraqi people. Along with killing Iraqis, the terrorists have used explosives to cut off the main water supply to Iraq and shut down one of the main exporting pipelines for oil, an important source of revenue for the country. The terrorists believe intolerable conditions will cause more Iraqis to ask the United States to leave. Attacking the Jordanian embassy and the U.N. compound also is an attempt to deter other nations from joining U.S.-British efforts to rebuild Iraq into a democratic nation.

Despite the attacks against U.S. troops, most polls show that Americans understand it will take years before we will be able to pull out. If we were to withdraw too soon, Iraq could be taken over by remnants of the Saddam regime or by terrorists supported by dictatorial countries such as Syria and Iran. If that were to happen, one of the reasons for invading Iraq -- to bring about peace and democracy to that country and to the region -- would be for nothing.