White House press secretary Ari Fleischer made headlines last week when he indicated in a White House press conference that “the cost of one bullet” would be a more economical approach for getting rid of Saddam Hussein than war with Iraq. While Fleischer was not suggesting the United States carry out an assassination attempt against Saddam Hussein, cavalier treatment of the matter only undermines U.S. goals in Iraq.

Fleischer suggested that should the Iraqi people decide to get rid of Saddam, the costs of a large war could be avoided. However, the suggestion Fleischer made is one against U.S. law; it is illegal for a U.S. president to send out a finding on someone else. Thus, Fleischer intimated the Iraqi opposition should undertake something beyond the American legal bounds. Is it moral to suggest someone should carry out an act we hold to be illegal? Moreover, previous attempts to get dissenting groups in Iraq to overthrow the government have failed; the fractured Iraqi opposition groups agree on nothing but loathing for the status quo.

Time and again, the Bush administration emphasized the importance of regime change in Iraq. If the regime change is one for which the United States will be a catalyst and the United States wants a government established that is more friendly and less a threat to Iraq’s neighbors and the rest of the world, the United States will have a hard time nation-building if the Iraqi power shift is purely internal.

Fleischer’s off-the-cuff remark was made without the consideration of the instability likely to envelop Iraq if dissidents picked off Saddam and seized power. Getting rid of Saddam does not automatically get rid of any biological, chemical or nuclear capabilities Iraq may have; the weapons would merely change hands. Getting rid of Saddam does not instantly feed, clothe and care for hundreds of thousands of people rendered indigent under Saddam’s regime.

Finally, Fleischer may be hard-pressed to show an example of when assassination works as a viable tool for developing better governance in areas with social and political upheaval. The Democratic Republic of Congo has yet to emerge from the dark night of war and suffering thrust upon them after the demise of Patrice Lumumba.

If the Bush administration cites a new government and greater security for the American people as the objects of an incursion in Iraq, the press secretary should not make flippant suggestions pushing the burden onto another group. The United States should not suggest or support actions illegal for itself to carry out.

Editorial Board:Cavan Reagan, Amber Billings, Rachel Faber Machacha, Charlie Weaver, Zach Calef, Ayrel Clark.