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Iraq War Plans Distract from Needed Focus on Terrorism
Tuesday, October 22, 2002
(2:24 AM ET)
USA TODAY

Bush's campaign to rid the world of the Iraqi tyrant has merit and some urgency to keep him from acquiring nuclear weapons. Fighting terrorist groups that pose a more immediate danger has a higher priority, however.

EDITORIAL / OPINION
Throughout the fall, the Bush administration has kept world attention riveted on its campaign against Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Congress has approved a war resolution, the United Nations Security Council is deep in debate on new requirements for weapons inspections in Iraq, and the administration is drawing up plans for a post-Saddam regime. But now, in the midst of preparations for a new conflict, comes a worrisome reminder about setbacks in another war the U.S. is already waging, the higher-priority war against terror.

Last Thursday, CIA Director George Tenet warned Congress that the risk of a new terrorist attack against the USA is as great as before Sept. 11, 2001. Beyond U.S. shores, a spate of terrorism during the past 20 days from Indonesia to Kuwait is a menacing sign that al-Qaeda is regrouping a year after being routed from Afghanistan.

Add to that North Korea's admission that it is developing nuclear weapons, and the growing accumulation of threats raises troubling questions about the Bush administration's wisdom in placing Saddam's ouster at the top of its foreign-policy to-do list. The most obvious concern: Is its preoccupation with Iraq diverting vital attention and resources from a more urgent campaign against al-Qaeda that is far from finished?

To critics who charge that the administration can't fight Iraq and al-Qaeda at the same time, President Bush said last week that the U.S. has "plenty of capacity" to handle both. From a military standpoint, he is right. The Pentagon has enough weapons and troops to wage two wars at once.

* Alienating Europe
* Angering Muslim nations
* Forgetting Afghanistan
* Ignoring Israel's transgressions
* Constricting the war on terrorism
(More: USATODAY.com News Source)
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Dan