Jared Strong’s Sept. 30 column, “The ends don’t justify the means in Iraq,” is just wrong.

Mr. Strong’s position that the Bush administration is changing their reasons for the war is incorrect. President Bush outlined many reasons for the war. One was the potential threat of weapons of mass destruction.

The president never said we were in immediate danger of WMD being used against us; he said we shouldn’t wait until Saddam has the ability to use them and then try to stop him. Saddam already showed his willingness to use them in the Iran-Iraq conflict, so it would have been a grave mistake to wait.

Second, the United Nations Security Council resolution 1441 allows for the use of force to remove Saddam. The UN, in particular France, Germany and Russia, were getting rich off of the Oil for Food program, so they had a personal interest in not removing Saddam.

The members of the international community aren’t mad at us for being arrogant — they are mad at us for exposing their hypocrisy. They had a real chance to help the people of Iraq. They chose not to. Now history will record how America saved the Iraqis from a vicious tyrant, while the world tried to stop us.

Finally, we are not creating any of the hatred they feel for us. Many of their religious leaders advocate hatred against us. It is not our fault their civilization stopped advancing several hundred years ago.

America is not to blame for their cowardly acts. Blame should be placed on their shoulders only.

Seth Johnson

Sophomore

Political Science