September 20, 2004

When Talking to Liberals About Iraq (How the War in Iraq Makes Us Safer)

I was at the local Apple store the other day and got into a conversation with a fellow-customer, who actually asked me if I didn’t believe that Bush got us into the Iraq war just for the benefit of companies like Haliburton. This was a reasonable, smart, well-educated guy. And he was buying into this conspiracy theory of Michael Moore’s. I was surprised that anybody had fallen for it.

I said I did not believe that, and ran down a list of the top reasons the war in Iraq is a good thing with regard to the war on terrorists.

• Hussein gave thousands of dollars to the families of suicide bombers who went to Iraq and killed Israeli and American civilians. From Associated Press, via LGF:

  GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Saddam Hussein has distributed $260,000 to 26 families of Palestinians killed in 29 months of fighting with Israel, including a $10,000 check to the family of a Hamas suicide bomber.

  In a packed banquet hall on Wednesday, the families came one-by-one to receive $10,000 checks. A large banner said: “The Arab Baath Party Welcomes the Families of the Martyrs for the Distribution of Blessings of Saddam Hussein.”

  From Israeli newspaper Haaretz:

  Israel Radio, quoting a Palestinian Authority report, said Monday that some $500,000 in funds provided by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein would be distributed this week to families of Palestinians killed in the territories, including $25,000 each to families of three suicide bombers.

  The radio cited a report in the PA-affiliated Al-Ayyam newspaper, according to which the families of Palestinians killed in the violence – who were not suicide terrorists – would receive $10,000 each.

  The funds would be distributed by the Arab Liberation Front organization, the radio said.

• Hussein had a long history of supporting terrorism.

  CIA Analysis, January 2003: Iraqi Support for Terrorism,* (p. 314 of Senate Intel Report):
  “Iraq has a long history of supporting terrorism.”

  CIA Analysis, January 2003—Iraqi Support for Terrorism, (p. 314 of Senate Intel Report):
  “Iraq continues to be a safehaven, transit point, or operational node for groups and individuals who direct violence against the United States, Israel and other allies.”

  Bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee Report (p. 315):
  “The CIA provided 78 reports, from multiple sources, [redacted] documenting instances in which the Iraqi regime either trained operatives for attacks or dispatched them to carry out attacks.”

  Bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee Report (p. 316):
  “Iraq continued to participate in terrorist attacks throughout the 1990s.”

  Bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee Report (p. 316):
  “From 1996 to 2003, the [Iraqi Intelligence Service] focused its terrorist activities on western interests, particularly against the U.S. and Israel.”

  Bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee Report (p. 316):
  “Throughout 2002, the [Iraqi Intelligence Service] was becoming increasingly aggressive in planning attacks against U.S. interests. The CIA provided eight reports to support this assessment.”
  

• Other dictators who support terrorism know that if anything like 9-11 happens again and they are involved, we are likely to own their country in about three weeks. This restrains their support of terrorists.
• Fearing he was next after Hussein, Qaddafi voluntarily handed over his WMDs to the U.S. This is plenty of WMDs found in the Mideast as a result of the war in Iraq.
• The terrorists are tied up attacking our army there, rather than our civilians here.

After I responded he was open-minded enough to say that I might be right.

Update 9-25-04. See part 2 of this article here.