We have already turned a nation that once had one of the highest standards of living in the Middle East into one of the most desperately poor countries in the world. In a best case scenario, bombing or tighter sanctions might convince Saddam Hussein to temporarily open Iraqi weapons sites to U.N. inspectors. Saddam Hussein will still be in the same desperate situation, and will continue to resort to desperate measures. Compassionate, effective diplomacy that replaces threats of violence with measures that promise to bring the Iraqi people out of poverty could offer Saddam Hussein a graceful way out of his desperate situation and spare hundreds of thousands of innocent lives. If we go to war again we will be creating a more dangerous situation for ourselves.
Violence begets violence.
Many in Middle East have already expressed a growing frustration over the hypocrisy of the U.S. policy of threatening to bomb Iraq because Iraq is suspected of having weapons of mass destructions while ignoring Israel's nuclear program and continuing to build, stockpile, and deploy its own nuclear weapons. If we bomb Iraq, resentment of the U.S. will grow, and Americans will most likely be the targets of terrorist acts. The World Trade Center bombers and the man who shot the commuters outside the CIA headquarters cited U.S.-backed violence against Muslim and Arab peoples as the reason for their actions. We we engage in violence against innocent people around the world, we in a sense invite violence against our own people. Bombing and sanctions will not end the crisis in Iraq.