Iraq war will not lower terror threat

Scott Bushee -- Staff Column

You can make a bomb out of simple household ingredients.

Don't believe me? Go to www.google.com and type in "make a bomb out of simple household ingredients."

That you can do this implies that anyone with Internet access, which is just about everyone, can do the same.

But who would wish to do such a thing? Who would desire to make a bomb and explode it on American soil? What would drive someone to do this?

Might our government's killing of a person's family drive that person to such an extreme measure? Would it matter if the government killed that person's family for a good reason?

What if our government killed your family for a good cause?

Reflect on that for a second. What if our government killed your mother and father, but wrote it off as necessary for the good of the rest of us? Would you be ok with that? Maybe. Maybe you would suck it up and attribute your loss as duty to your country.

But what if it wasn't the American government that killed your mother? What if the French government did the same, but attributed it to 'necessary for the good of tout les monde?' Would you still look as favorably on the loss? Probably not. In fact, you would view that as a transgression against you. You might wish to cause France harm in turn.

So now I wonder: if it is rational for you to be upset at a foreign power for causing you and yours harm, is it not rational for other countries to view American aggression in the same light?

I think so. I think that, regardless of our intentions in Iraq, they will be viewed as unnecessary aggression by many Iraqis and others in the Middle East.

This will not be good for America. This war with Iraq will spawn future terrorist attacks against us. Regardless of our good will, it will be viewed as an attempt to control oil and to add Muslim Holy Land to an American empire.

Aiding in spreading this view is the Middle Eastern media, which is not under our control. It will never be under our control.

With the ease of making explosives, we cannot defend against all terrorist attacks. A home made explosion in a restaurant that kills 30 in a place like Fargo will cause as much of a national panic as a similar explosion in Los Angeles. Possibly more. We think ourselves secure here in central Minnesota because we do not live in a probable target area. If somewhere close to us became a target, no one would think himself secure.

Regardless of what our government intends, this war will only serve to decrease our security.

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Scott Bushee can be reached at [email protected]

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