(New York Times)Thomas L. Friedman - Regime change in Iraq is not some distraction from the war on al Qaeda. And simply because oil is also at stake in Iraq doesn't make it illegitimate either. Some things are right to do, even if Big Oil benefits. Regime transformation in Iraq could make a valuable contribution to the war on terrorism. If we don't help transform these Arab states, we will never begin to see the political, educational, and religious reformations they need to shrink their output of undeterrables - the boys who did 9/11, who hate us more than they love life. It's these human missiles of mass destruction that could really destroy our open society. Liberating the captive peoples of the Mideast is a virtue in itself because in today's globalized world, if you don't visit a bad neighborhood, it will visit you.
2003-01-22 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive