STAFF EDITORIAL: Eye on America

The Bush administration's proposal to use military force to overthrow Saddam Hussein has negative ramifications on the domestic front as well as the international stage. Congress and the President are pushing aside pressing national issues one month before Election Day to focus solely on the Iraq question. Party politics have no place in the debate over a war, and the government cannot afford to ignore problems at home while preparing for an attack abroad. The effects of war with Iraq would not be confined to the battlefield--they would also be felt acutely in the United States. In the second installment of a series of three editorials on the potential war in Iraq, Spectator examines domestic arguments for avoiding war.

War is not the only problem America faces today, and yet all other items on Congress's agenda have been put to the side while an attack is discussed. Government attention is diverted from the investigation of intelligence failures that led to Sept. 11--and the prevention of those same mistakes--to an attack on Iraq. Congress has been reluctant to address the grave issues of corporate accountability raised by the scandals of the past year, and a war resolution provides the convenient opportunity to delay discussion of business responsibility even more.

The economy is still fragile. Unemployment remains high. In 2001, the percentage of Americans living in poverty rose for the first time in eight years, and the national median income fell. While war would provide a boost to the economy, it would be a Band-aid and not a permanent solution. The factors that led to the recent recession--over-reliance on a volatile stock market and corporate malfeasance chief among them--would still be present. These problems need attention that they will not receive while Congress and the President prepare for war.

A host of other issues stand to lose as attention shifts to war. The millions of senior citizens who are paying exorbitant prices for their prescription drugs will have to wait even longer for relief. The massive education reforms implemented by the No Child Left Behind Act, the first results of which are starting to trickle in, will go unexamined. Social Security, a longstanding problem, spirals closer to running out of money, still without a solution in sight. Routine legislation on trade, taxes, and infrastructure will get little or no attention this fall and will languish until at least the next session of Congress. The sudden debate over war with Iraq is robbing Americans of the government's attention at a time when it is critically needed.

What should be a debate free of political pandering is instead clouded by election-year politics and animosity between Republicans and Democrats. Since the balance of power in both houses is so narrow, both parties are under pressure to deliver on Election Day. Members of Congress up for reelection fear that their statements on either side will affect the outcome of their race. In the constant tussle to be the most patriotic, Republicans are denouncing Democrats who oppose the war. Voters would benefit more from an honest debate about Iraq rather than the current political dance. Partisanship has no place in deciding whether to go to war.

Both Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney are former Texas oil moguls with ties to big business and interests in securing closer American control over the Persian Gulf's oil supply. A war in the Middle East would not only make oil more difficult to import because of chaos in the region, but it would also anger many OPEC members. The administration's concern for the accessibility and size of the oil supply is rooted in Bush's desire to keep the votes and financial backing of oil executives. Ordinary Americans should not have to pay exorbitant energy prices, but neither should they have to support a war designed to save oil for political reasons. A Hussein-free Iraq would be one less obstacle in the way of American energy companies, but the United States should not go to war because a few rich people want to get even richer. Bush's personal ties to oil should not send America to war.

The Bush administration's drive to war has shown a lack of regard for domestic concerns. America cannot afford to ignore fractures and problems in the domestic environment while pursuing patriotic triumph overseas. To maintain stability at home, the United States should not go to war abroad.