I’m not going to presume to speak for all the “peaceniks,” but my complaint with the current administration’s actions toward Iraq has nothing to do with a love for Mr. Hussein. I completely agree that he is a bad man. However, my primary complaint is the practicality of the whole ordeal.

Mr. Bush’s new budget plans for record debts, rather than the surpluses projected just a few years ago. While much of this can be attributed to combating terrorism and the sagging economy, a good bit of it can be attributed to Mr. Bush’s own economic policy (tax cuts, etc.).

The point is, engaging ourselves in a war with Iraq is not an economically sound thing to do right now. The most recent concern with Iraq is a missile that, without guidance systems or warhead, has a range of a whopping 110 miles.

This is why I am more worried about North Korea than Iraq. North Korea has admitted to possessing nuclear missiles. Iraq might have them. And the real kicker: North Korea can hit the West Coast of the United States. Iraq can’t.

Clearly, Hussein’s weapons arsenal is not a problem. Al-Qaida can’t be pinned on Iraq, either.

The administration claims that bin Laden’s exhortation to the Iraqi people to kill Americans and his chastisement of Hussein as decadent and having gone away from true Islam are proof of his links to Iraq, and anyone that disputes this is clearly wrong.

I won’t dispute that there are quite likely al-Qaida cells and operatives in Iraq, but I am skeptical, given the chastisement of Hussein and the call to the Iraqi people, of any official link between the Iraqi government and al-Qaida.

If involvement of the citizenry with al-Qaida is a sufficient condition for war, I demand that we immediately declare war on the United States. An al-Qaida cell has been found in Buffalo, N.Y., and therefore the government is clearly involved with the terrorists. Sounds silly, doesn’t it?

Given the impact to an already down economy, a lack of immediate danger from his weaponry and lack of any credible links to al-Qaida, I propose that we wait. Let the inspectors keep an eye on him. If there ever is an immediate threat to the American people, I fully support going to war, regardless the cost. But with our economy the way it is, we ought to wait, rather than using Mr. Bush’s obsession to tank the economy even further.

David Goodrich

Sophomore

Computer Engineering