In reality, the attacks are punitive reprisals for Hussein's contemptuous defiance of U.S. demands and the unavoidable consequences of repeated U.S. threats. President Clinton has been criticized for past pinprick attacks and for canceling the planned November strikes altogether. Given his vulnerable political circumstances, Clinton simply could not now compromise American credibility abroad by failing to carry out U.S. threats. The first obvious one is increased vulnerability of Americans living in Muslim countries. These include not only our diplomatic and military personnel but large numbers of civilian employees of U.S. companies doing business abroad.
Violence predictably begets violence even though it is directed against innocents.
There is certainly a risk that we will incur significant political costs in our relations with Islamic nations as well as with Russia and other major nations that resent yet another unilateral action by the world's only superpower. We accord ourselves the right to act militarily in our own interests, but many other nations are growing uneasy about our willingness to do so without consultation and consensus within the world community. As the world's foremost military power we have the ability to do that today. In short, the strikes are the inevitable consequence of America's making its military power the primary instrument of its foreign policy. In this instance, among others, military action cannot significantly affect the situation in Iraq to our advantage.