A Merry Bombing Campaign

The U.S. has launched a major bombing offensive against Iraq on the eve of the Islamic holiday of Ramadan and while President Clinton is in the midst of impeachment hearings. Some would say that this is just another attempt by a weak President to boost his sagging prestige and that this is just another attempt to "wag the dog." By this, these individuals are suggesting that the President is trying to get out of his domestic crisis by creating a foreign crisis to cover and mask his problems at home.

These individuals are not entirely wrong in their assessment; but they aren't right either. President Clinton inherited Saddam Hussein from George Bush and his predecessors who supported the Iraqi regime against the threat of Iranian fundamentalism. President Hussein has constantly and incessantly used the threat of withdrawing support for the arms inspections as a precursor to lift the crushing sanctions against his country. Like clockwork, Hussein prevents the UN inspectors from doing their assigned tasks and finding and documenting the extensive weapons development program that produced chemical and biological weapons. Iraq was in the process of developing nuclear weapons and delivery systems. The latest crisis Hussein invoked was that he prevented the UN inspectors from once again searching through documents and locations that are suspected of containing key evidence that would allow the UN to sustain the embargo and sanctions.

President Clinton has sought to keep Iraq under pressure to ensure that the UN mandate is followed. However, his use of force may be unwise as Iraq has shown that force has not brought the Iraqi leadership into line with the will of the UN and that the bombings may only serve to unify the Iraqi people behind Hussein. The Iraqi people have suffered for 8 years now under the effects of the UN sanctions and President Hussein's willingness to allow his people to suffer in the name of protecting his weapons program is deplorable.

The impeachment of the President will move forward despite the bombings. The President's future is still very much in doubt. However, other nations shouldn't take the impeachment process to mean that the US is completely unable or unwilling to continue its foreign policy objectives as the world continues to operate in the face of questionable acts and responses by the President relating to grand jury testimony. Threats to the US and world stability continue to exist and the US needs to deal with these even when the President is surrounded in controversy. Many individuals and nations may see the controversy and apparent weakness of the President as a sign that they can take actions that are in opposition to US interests that they wouldn't normally consider. The problem for those threatening individuals and nations is that the US is more than just the President; Congress and the citizens of the US recognize that there are external threats that must be dealt with regardless of the President's dilemma.

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