Volume CXXXII, Number 5 October 18, 2002 f

Do not attack Iraq
KATHERINE CRANE
COLUMNIST

George W. Bush evidently feels that the U.S. doesn't have enough problems. You would think that one terrorist sniper loose in the Washington area would be plenty, not to mention one terrorist network that we haven't managed to find, let alone punish for the September 11 attacks.

But that's not enough for Dubya. Never mind that Al-Qaeda, which only a year ago we were going to hunt down and destroy, is still around, or that a terrorist organization allegedly linked to it just killed more than 180 people in Bali. And never mind that people in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia can't go to the store or fill up on gas without half-expecting to be shot dead at any moment. No, as far as Bush is concerned, none of those things are really important enough for the United States Government to bother with.

So if the terrorism that has already happened isn't our first priority, and terrorism that's happening right now isn't either, then what is? Naturally, terrorism that hasn't happened yet. Terrorism that, according to the CIA, probably won't happen-unless the U.S. starts a war with Iraq.

On Wednesday, Bush signed the resolution that gives him the power to use force against Iraq. He explained that Iraq poses "a serious and growing threat to peace." If Bush ever had to buy his own gas, or even walk outside in D.C., he'd look at it another way.

"This nation will not live at the mercy of any foreign power or plot," Bush said. He apparently forgot about the foreign power that already attacked us, and didn't seem at all concerned about any domestic powers or plots. Except, of course, plots by the Democrats to win the election in 2004.

But it's always easier to solve a problem that doesn't exist, and it may be that Bush's failure to catch Osama bin Laden has convinced him it's best not even to try. If we forget about Al-Qaeda, we won't have to see any more videos of Osama bin Laden in a cave laughing at us. And if the sniper investigation remains in the hands of the Montgomery County police department, there's no chance for the FBI to be embarrassed by its own failure.

Bush has developed a unique foreign policy: instead of solving a problem, just create a new one. He uses a conflict like some people use a credit card: spend until the bills come and then start a new account.
Meanwhile people continue to be killed in terrorist attacks, and the D.C. area police continue to wait for murders and then play tag with the killer. Bush continues to ignore this, in the same way that he ignored the warning from the CIA that an attack on Iraq will unleash terrorism rather than prevent it. Once that happens, I imagine, Bush will simply create a new enemy to focus on, and leave the problem of Iraqi terrorism to solve itself.