If this were a world of rainbows and happy smiles, all problems could be solved with diplomacy. The stark, cold truth is that the world is nasty and there are those who will not respond to diplomacy. Among those are groups such as Hamas, al-Qaida and Hussein’s Baathist regime. Their sole purpose in life is to eliminate their enemies and achieve a position of power or die trying. They don’t negotiate. They can’t be reasoned with.

When I saw Colin Powell present the flimsy evidence he had before the U.N., I knew his case was less than solid. I did, however, understand the need to bring Saddam Hussein to justice, and the benefits of the impression it would make on other outlaw regimes that harbor terrorists.

I don’t blame the Bush administration for using the “hard sell” to justify going into Iraq. Clinton wanted to go in, but his love of the opinion poll wouldn’t let him. The fish brain American public has forgotten Madeline Albright’s attempts to persuade the electorate on her American campus tour of the late 90s.

Friendship is great, but sometimes fear is more effective. North Korea, Iran and Libya have admitted to lying about their nuclear programs. Saudi Arabia is now taking a concerted role in fighting terrorism. Pakistani tribal leaders on the Afghan border have now forsaken ties with the Taliban and al-Qaida and agreed to help the Pakistani military because they fear the U.S. military. The new Hamas leader has said publically that the United States is not his enemy and promises not to target America. These are all events that have occurred in the wake of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

The value of a terror reduced world and the hope of democratic freedom is priceless. A U.S. soldier’s job is to fight and die, if necessary, for freedom. Isn’t the chance of democracy better than a cruel dictatorship?

The instant gratification mentality of the American culture has already judged the change in Iraq as a failure after only one year.

The U.S. military occupied Germany for eight years after WWII. These things take time.

Everyone seems to agree that Hussein was a criminal and needed to be dealt with.

The antiwar proponents, as well as the U.N., seemed to think that if they shook their fingers and clucked their tongues in disapproval, Hussein would peacefully give himself up. It was 12 years of U.N. corruption and inaction that led to the U.S. going alone into Iraq. It was personal pettiness and a Eurocentric Security Council that would not hold “a Middle Eastern native” to the same standards of law as the Europeans.

We still need diplomacy. We need our friends, but they also need us. Those wounds will heal. This is what reasonable people do. Terrorists are without reason, and outlaw regimes are so corrupt, that only a threat of violence can motivate them to comply with the rest of the world.

Iraq now has the opportunity to join the world community. The U.N. has the opportunity to realize that inaction can sometimes do more harm than action. Only time will tell if the fruits of our efforts will be born out.

Daniel R. Zamzow

Graduate Student

Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology