Clinton’s August surprise

By Joseph Farah

Former U.S. Marine Intelligence Col. Scott Ritter says the United
Nations is about to make new weapons inspections demands upon Iraq.

The former weapons inspector adds, in an interview in the London
Independent, that there is little chance of any further access to Iraq
next month. The move, he says, is little more than an election ploy by
the Clinton administration to provoke an escalation of bombing.

“The new commission, UNMOVIC, will not be allowed into Iraq in
August, three months away from the election,” said Ritter. “You have got
a vice president, Al Gore, trailing behind in the polls, and what better
way to appear tough and switch attention away to a so-called foreign
threat.”

Ritter was a member of the U.N. inspection team that was ejected from
Iraq in 1998 after his colleagues were accused of spying for the U.S.
and British military. Ritter added that he expects the U.S. to draft
Britain into another round of intensified bombing “to give the
appearance of something multilateral,” since the U.N. security Council
is unlikely to approve further military action against Iraq.

Last week former U.N. weapons inspector Richard Butler also predicted
another U.S.-Iraq crisis some time in the next six weeks.

Now let me preface my analysis with this: I am no apologist for
Saddam Hussein. If I had it in my power to remove that blight upon the
Iraqi people, I would do so in a heartbeat. He’s a tyrant, a murderer
and a fiend.

But the U.S.-led bombing campaign against Iraq is every bit as
immoral as Hussein’s wars against his neighbors and his own people. It’s
been going on for years. It results only in the senseless death of
innocent Iraqis and increased hatred of America in a region of the world
defined by such contempt.

So why does Clinton do it? Because it serves a political purpose.
It’s a handy escape valve for him. It worked during the impeachment
trial, and he’s counting on it working again.

Clinton knows that Americans instinctively and reflexively rally
’round the flag whenever our troops move or our military planes take
off. Americans have not been overly discriminating in their support of
wars — at least while U.S. casualties remain low.

I hate to say it, America, but too many of you people have a
jingoistic attitude about the world. You think America has some
God-given right to push its weight around — anytime, anywhere.

What good does raining more death on the Iraqi people accomplish? Is
that more or less likely to result in Iraq attaining weapons of mass
destruction? Is it more or less likely to result in the overthrow of
Saddam Hussein?

You’ve been warned, America. Your president is contemplating another
evil war in your name. He’s banking on you just going along — even
giving him and his chosen successor more support because the bombs are
flying.

Even if you don’t care a whit about the lives of innocent Iraqis,
such a move at this time is questionable on purely military grounds.
Earlier this week, WorldNetDaily’s Charles Smith wrote a story revealing
the

U.S. military machine is critically low on cruise missiles.
Cruise missiles have often been the weapon of choice against Iraq. Without them, American pilots will have to risk their lives more often on senseless missions of destruction.

How long will Americans stand for this outrage? How long will they allow themselves to be duped by politicians like Clinton and Gore? How long will they allow them to make war in their name and with their money and materiel?

I’ve asked these questions before, and I’m still awaiting the answers: “What are we doing in Iraq today? What are we hoping to accomplish? When will we be able to stop dropping bombs? How will we know when our objectives have been achieved? What are our objectives? Under what authority does Clinton conduct this undeclared war?”

Some day there will be a price for actions like these. I don’t know what form it will take. When it comes, I’m sure Americans will be surprised. They’ll be shocked, shocked that people in a faraway land like Iraq could have developed such a strong dislike for us. That will be because Americans chose to close their eyes to these atrocities.

You’ve been warned, America. Now what are you going to do about it?

Joseph Farah

Joseph Farah is founder, editor and chief executive officer of WND. He is the author or co-author of 13 books that have sold more than 5 million copies, including his latest, "The Gospel in Every Book of the Old Testament." Before launching WND as the first independent online news outlet in 1997, he served as editor in chief of major market dailies including the legendary Sacramento Union. Read more of Joseph Farah's articles here.