War with Iraq may trigger worse events

Nancy Milio, Chapel Hill News, 9/11/02

In the midst of a rising election fever, we have a more virulent war fever that could damage Americans and the people and principals we hold dear. The Congress must force open debate on the full consequences of war on Iraq and support a strong, active, joint approach to contain whatever threat exists.

War may well trigger the threat as well as unleash other threats that the hawks seek to neutralize. The spin-offs of war are grim:

• For those who have family in the military, it will mean more fear and loss.
• For those who seek Israel's security, war will make it a direct proxy target for Saddam's retaliation against the United States.
• For those who fear more war, we will set a precedent for pre-emptive war; just as our use of the 'terrorist' label has justified overturning human rights in China, Pakistan, India, Chechnya, and elsewhere.
• For those who depend on oil, it will disrupt the market prices and threaten the oil fields and environment.
• For those who do not want to waste our wealth on war and want to relieve Americans of unlivable wages, unaffordable health care, housing and childcare, poor education, and unsafe environments, war will mean years more of making-do, of wasting the promise of children, quashing the efforts of parents, burdening the lives of elders.
• For those who want the United States to stand for democracy and the rule of law, it will mean less respect and credibility by many of our allies and friends, and disdain by our opponents.
• For those who care about civil rights, a war economy and a war government will further erode and weaken those rights for all of us and will question the patriotism of any who dare question the enforcers.

We must demand that our senators and representatives publicly and fully explore the costs of war, prevent precipitous decisions, and ultimately avoid a war that is not in American interests. This war opposes what we want to stand for, what we want the world to believe we are.