Gerald Kleczka: “although we all know this war resolution will pass, I nevertheless must question the wisdom and morality of an…”

“although we all know this war resolution will pass, I nevertheless must question the wisdom and morality of an unprovoked attack on another foreign nation. The guiding principle of our foreign policy for over 50 years has been one of containment and deterrence. This is the same strategy that kept the former Soviet Union in check, a power whose possession of weapons of mass destruction had been proven and not speculated, and in fact led to its downfall. The administration asserts that this time-tested policy is not sufficient to deal with this, yes, dangerous but small, economically weakened Middle Eastern nation. Instead, they support a new policy of a unilateral preemptive attack against Iraq, citing the unproven possibility that Saddam Hussein might be a risk to the security of the United States. The long-term effects of this go-it-alone, shoot-first policy will be to lose the high moral ground we have exercised in the past to deter other nations from attacking militarily when they felt their security was at stake. The next time Pakistani and Indian troops mass at their borders with both nations' fingers on nuclear triggers, what moral authority will we have to prevent a potential catastrophe? They would justifiably ignore our pleas for diplomatic or negotiated approaches and instead simply follow our lead. The administration continues to assert that Iraq is an urgent threat to our national security and that we are at risk of an Iraqi surprise attack.”