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The GW Hatchet

AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904

The GW Hatchet

Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

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Officials name senior vice president, chief of staff
By Fiona Riley, Assistant News Editor • March 26, 2024

Forum: Bombing kills innocents


Let’s focus on the facts of why bombing Iraq is clearly a stupid action. Fact 1: Saddam Hussein is the most villainous dictator in the world and should be removed by any means necessary. Fact 2: Bombing villages and dropping chemicals upon the people he oppresses, as the U.S. and Britain have done for eight years, is not the way to do it. Unfortunately, the current U.S. policy is “when in doubt, bomb some Arabs,” and these most recent actions were no exception.

Why bomb Iraq? Some claim it was to defend a no-fly zone patrolled by the U.S. over the north and the south of Iraq. But the U.S. does not mention that what they mean by `patrolling’ is actually `attacking.’ Fact 3: Since the end of the Gulf War, the U.S. has bombed Iraq two to three times a week. The targets have been villages, farms, water treatment centers and other “dangerous locations.”

Moreover, depleted uranium is being used, a substance that increased cancer rates in Iraq by more than 200 percent. Because of the radioactive weapons, the water and soil will remain contaminated for 50 years or longer contributing to deaths of more than 500,000 Iraqi children since the Gulf War. Do children pose a danger to fighter planes, is that why they were bombed?

Another reason offered is that the U.S. wants to ensure Iraq does not attack its neighbors. Fact 4: Last year , Saudi Arabia transacted more than $300 million in business with Iraq. Since Iraq does not have many issues with its neighbors, why the bombing?

Maybe the U.S. wants to ensure there are no “weapons of mass destruction” in Iraq. This justification is a joke. The nations who provide the components of these weapons have said they have not traded in such materials with Iraq. Interestingly, the weapons Iraq has were obtained from their biggest ally during the ’80s: the U.S. The only country in the Middle East with nuclear capabilities is Israel, not Iraq.

Perhaps the real reason for the bombing is Iraq’s violation of U.N. resolutions. Fact 5: The country that has been in defiance of the most U.N. resolutions – 69 not counting another 29 avoided through U.S. vetoes – is also the recipient of the most U.S. aid: Israel. The last reason the U.S. can claim to bomb Iraq is upholding the authority of the U.N. It is clear the U.S. has no allegiance to that ideal.

I am a proponent of any policy removing Hussein. Sadly, this is not the policy. Frankly, I have a hard time believing that the U.S. – with a military budget 22 times that of Iraq’s – wants Hussein out of power when with all those resources, the U.S. could not do so for the past ten years. As Secretary of State Colin Powell tours the Middle East to gain support for the attacks, he will confront leaders who see the actions for what they truly are: violent attacks and the slow murder of a country.

I support any attempt to rid the world of Hussein, but bombing the people he oppresses is not the path to success.

-The writer, a junior majoring in economics, is president of the Arab Student Association.

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