This paper is an argument in favor of the war against Saddam Hussein. It is made from personal experience. I am a native of Kuwait, and I have seen firsthand the terrorist tactics of this evil dictator. There are many reasons to avoid war. There are also a few times when it is necessary to fight. This is one of them.
First, I do not say that this is a war against Iraq. Iraq is a country that has been held hostage for 24 years. This is a war against the terrorist who has been destroying that country and its people since he came to power. This is a war against a dictator who has been a real and lasting threat to his neighbors and to people over whom he has no legal authority. This is a war against a madman with powerful weapons and the will to use them. This is a war against Saddam.
He kills his own people every day. Most of them live in incredible poverty, while he has every luxury he can imagine. Amnesty InternationalÆs latest report on the human rights situation in Iraq paints a dismal picture. Saddam uses the death penalty as a way of getting rid of his enemies (Amnesty 1). He frequently arrests people without any legal reason, and when they are even given a trial, these proceedings are almost always unfair and unbalanced. The Iraqi people do not have rights. Saddam can order anyone killed who he believes might be a threat to him. Others he tortures and keeps in prison just because he can. Those who are not in prison live in constant fear that they might do something that will get them arrested or killed.
Richard Butler argues, ôSaddamÆs fundamental goal is to retain his own power and position . . . [which] does explain a great deal about the system of terror and patronage he runs in Iraq and the extraordinary wall of security he has built around himselfö (xvii-xviii). In 1988, an Iraqi village called Halabja tried to revolt against Saddam. He destroyed the entire town. It is no longer on the ma...