The Bush Administration has come under increasing fire – both at home and abroad – for its inability to locate Iraq’s alleged weapons of mass destruction. So far this has been primarily considered a political problem for the President as the possible legal implications of the situation are debated. World opinion of the President and the nation has also been a growing concern. However, while these issues are valid, they are not what should be foremost in our minds.

Consider for a moment that the Administration is innocent before it has been proven guilty (a novel concept I know, but work with me here), and let’s assume some sizable amount of banned weapons do exist in somewhere in Iraq. Given that there are some people in Iraq, and elsewhere, who might use them against the U.S., shouldn’t locating those weapons be our top priority?

We should be using the full weight of our nation’s considerable military and diplomatic capabilities to find any and all suspected weapons of mass destruction today - not eventually - today. If U.S. troops are spread so thinly throughout Iraq maintaining security that they can’t stop Saddam’s loyalists, or some other group, from finding and using those weapons, then it’s the responsibility of our President to go to the United Nations immediately to request the aid of the international community in this task.

Because of our unilateral action in Iraq – and by the assertions of the Bush Administration itself – chemical and biological weapons may now be accessible to any force or faction in Iraq who finds them. Our President has a sworn duty to us all to ensure that – if they exist – those weapons are found and destroyed by our forces before they can be used to harm a single human being.

If President Bush fails us in this, then impeachment will be the least of his worries.

Labels: George W. Bush, iraq, occupation, wmd