From the Austin American-Statesman

By Lloyd Doggett
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Wednesday, February 19, 2003

I offered President Bush immediate, bipartisan support for the war on terror and recall him declaring repeatedly how he would "smoke out" Osama bin Laden from his hiding place. Now, with bin Laden seldom mentioned, Americans are told to be prepared to seal our own hiding places with duct tape.

Saddam Hussein has been largely substituted for bin Laden. Though the CIA indicated that any Iraqi threat to us was low, we now have almost 200,000 brave Americans poised to take out Saddam, not bin Laden. The additional nuclear threat from North Korea, which has long-range missiles, was hidden from Congress until after our vote on Iraq. Administration mismanagement has heightened this much greater danger.

I believe a fixation with regime change in Baghdad is diverting precious intelligence and other resources needed to protect Americans from these genuine threats, especially from al Qaeda.

In a clever marketing campaign, the administration has attempted to link the two, but it has yet to offer one shred of evidence that Iraq is in any way connected to 9/11. Nor has it yet demonstrated why Iraq represents any greater danger of attacking us now than it did before 9/11 or how Iraq, criss-crossed with international weapons inspectors, poses even a heightened regional danger.

Overthrowing one tyrant in what many will perceive as a crusade against Islam will likely jeopardize our families by creating more terrorists. This will reinforce those who insist that safety requires the trampling of our civil liberties.

Attacking Iraq is apparently the first step in implementing a dangerous new security policy that dramatically alters a half-century's bipartisan reliance on containment that has previously protected us from many villains. America will now attack first with pre-emptive strikes in what could spiral into wars without end, because other countries will likely copy this model.

This is a formula for international anarchy, not domestic security. A quick draw may eliminate the occasional villain, but it comes at the cost of destabilizing the world, disrupting the hope for international law and order and, ultimately, it will make even Austin an unsafe place in which to live.

True security does require a strong military and a willingness to use it. We are strong enough to conquer Iraq and others, but we must be wise enough to rely on our many other strengths to rid the world of dangers rather than unilaterally imposing our will, uniting our enemies and dividing our allies.

This is not a choice between "war" and "appeasement." Rather, the better alternative is to isolate Saddam and unite both his neighbors and our allies behind an aggressive inspection and weapons destruction program.

The real cost of this war will be paid in blood, but Americans are already paying for it at the gas pump. A long-term occupation is planned for this large, ethnically divided country, bordering Iran and Syria, that some call the Arab Yugoslavia. As one commentator declared, "This administration is planning for a Douglas McArthur-style, prolonged occupation of Japan and preparing Americans for an invasion of Grenada."

With so few allies, hundreds of billions of our tax dollars will be demanded indefinitely. At a time of soaring, massive federal debt, these are precious resources no longer available for education, health care, retirement security and homeland security.

I spoke Saturday at the Texas Capitol to thousands of neighbors seeking peace, including some groups with whom I share little agreement on other issues. My last speech there was to honor our veterans' service in defense of freedom -- the liberty that allows us to express dissent. I honor them now, aware that urban warfare in Iraq will kill not only innocent civilians, but will cut short the lives of courageous Americans, who are being unwisely placed in harm's way.

Surrendering to war now is an admission of defeat -- that we were neither creative nor committed enough in peace to avoid the truly horrible cost of war. In this great democracy, we should also honor patriots for peace -- those who support an America that remains a beacon to the world and that values the economic and physical security of all families everywhere.

In the powerful words of one who understood the importance of strength in confronting injustice, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., "The chain reaction of evil -- hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars -- must be broken. Or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation."

Doggett, a Democrat, represents Austin.