All eyes are on the Middle East again. It has become a daily event to see a suicide bomber or other such violent acts in the Middle East blanket the front pages of most newspapers. Now the focus is on what the United States is going to do about it and when we're going to do it.
Target No. 1 lies in Iraq, with the bull's-eye drawn across Saddam Hussein. As of right now, the United States has not decided upon any particular action to take against Iraq.
President Bush wants to keep all his options open right now, but it is safe to say at the very least a diplomatic showdown is likely to happen in the near future.
The diplomatic approach has proven ineffective with Hussein in the past and it doesn't look to be any different this time. It was 1998 when United Nations weapons inspectors were expelled from Iraq for the last time. Four years is a long period of time for Hussein not to be checked up on.
Some Pentagon officials are voicing their concerns as well. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said just last week that Iraq is only one country developing weapons of mass destruction that "would make Sept. 11 pale by comparison." He advocates the United States act now with ally support rather than wait another 10 to 20 years.
With the situation being so hot right now, it's hard to even contemplate what may happen in 10 to 20 years if the United States or some other country doesn't intervene to at least try to cool things down.
There is, however, a quote that makes a good point: "Take the politics out of a war and it will be over in a day." Perhaps our own intervention will be enough to push things to the limit, in turn making the situation even worse.
The political heat of potential conflict was evident by Vice President Cheney's recent visit to Saudi Arabia. Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah said Friday that any effort to overthrow Hussein would only raise animosity in the region against the United States. Abdullah and Saudi Arabia are among our allied "friends" - in case you've forgotten, as many of us have with all the recent anti-American comments coming from Saudi Arabia's leadership.
Before we head to the Middle East with a renewed vigor, the Bush administration knows allied support will be crucial in a successful mission for restoring peace, or at least order, to the Middle East. Even before looking toward the allies, the support of the American people is even more crucial. Clearly, setting up a coalition for this will take a great deal of time.
The last campaign into the Middle East was done with mixed views at home, with more people against our involvement than for it near the beginning. It is likely this situation will be reversed now, but it is not wise to make an assumption without taking the pulse of the American public.
In the upcoming weeks there will be more words spoken about our Middle East involvement, but action will follow those words. The Pentagon "war dogs" won't allow the United States to sit on the sidelines when it comes to deciding Saddam Hussein's fate, and I don't think it will take much to convince Bush of this either.
Write to Justin at jtsyndram@bsu.edu
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