Congressional Black Caucus must go to Iraq

(FinalCall.com) - Iraq recently invited UN weapons inspector Hans Blix to visit Iraq for talks that could lead to the resumption of UN inspections of weapons sites in that country.

Now, Iraq has invited members of the U.S. Congress and a fact-finding team of experts to Baghdad to determine if Saddam Hussein is developing weapons of mass destruction.

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) must accept his offer and be a part of any delegation that goes. And if the general body of Congress ignores the offer, then the CBC must make the journey alone.

Why?

The deadly sanctions imposed on Iraq and President Bush�s vendetta against Hussein is an insane foreign policy, a fact to which the world is now bearing witness.

The reasons for war that the administration gives is that Saddam Hussein, whom they portray as a mad man, is in power and his continued rule will result in his acquiring nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. The cost of a U.S. invasion into Iraq, according to recent testimony at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, will run into the billions of dollars and cost the lives of thousands of innocent Iraqi citizens as well as an untold number of U.S. service men.

Iraq, by the way, is listed among the current "axis of evil" nations. Others are Iran and North Korea, but the Bush administration is not talking about an invasion of those nations. India and Pakistan not long ago detonated test nuclear weapons that both have now acquired. There was no rush to invade those countries to seize their arsenals. Nor were there advance media reports that leaders of those nations were developing or on the verge of obtaining such weapons of mass destruction. But that�s all we�ve been hearing about Saddam Hussein.

The leader of Iraq is a thorn in the side of U.S. warmongers just as Cuba�s Fidel Castro has been a pain to U.S. administrations that won�t go away. The U.S. has sanctioned that tiny nation that poses no military threat to the region or America, depriving the citizens of the necessities that would provide for the comforts of life. An embargo has been on Cuba for so long that living without it would be unnatural for its citizens.

Yet, their love and passion for independence from their imperialist neighbor remains strong. And their bitter feelings, if not hatred, toward U.S. agitation has lingered for as long as the sanctions.

Saddam, on the other hand, just 15 short years ago, was an ally of the U.S. and its weapon against Iran when the U.S. wanted to weaken both nations militarily. Iran and Iraq fought for nearly 10 years, costing both nations nearly a million lives. With the objective of weakening Iran and Iraq�s military potential accomplished, Saddam Hussein now is enemy number one.

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus must go to Iraq to see the suffering and determine for themselves if there are weapons of mass destruction there. They must report their findings to their community and the U.S. public.

And if they think that the administration�s policy toward Iraq is insane, they must say so and work harder to formulate better policy.

FinalCall.com