The three words no one on Planet Earth wants to hear are World War III.
Yet during a recent press conference, President Bush decided to forgo conventional wisdom by saying WWIII was an inevitable next step if Iran were successful in obtaining the “knowledge” to build a nuclear weapon.
Congress got in on the action by branding Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization. Its resolution called for increased diplomatic relations in order to ease tensions in the region.
Herein lies the problem: we’ve all heard this before.
When Congress handed the president the authority to use military force in Iraq in 2003, Americans were convinced Iraq was going to launch missiles into Israel and sell WMD to terrorists who would then traverse the ocean to kill us all.
The CIA, Britain’s MI6, Scotland Yard and a host of worldwide agencies all had “specific intelligence” that proved to be false.
America is embedded on two fronts, and now President Bush is beating the drum and marching toward Iran.
While the country’s economy and job market suffer and the military is strained, now is not the time to pick a fight with a country that has been waiting to fight us.
The president’s rhetoric is dangerous for a country slowly becoming more isolated and an administration hell-bent on forcing democracy upon the world.
The administration’s sense of invincibility and righteousness without a shred of humility is causing America to lose face even among our allies.
The president should appreciate the vulnerable position we currently occupy, especially with Russia and China.
Earlier this year, Russia successfully tested a bomb with a yield four times more powerful than America’s largest conventional weapon.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, following a visit to Iran, blasted U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. He heavily criticized America’s efforts to install a missile defense shield in Poland, comparing the situation to the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
While Russia chooses to use a show-of-force strategy, China’s tactics are more economically driven.
The Chinese, like Russia, have developed relationships with those we call our enemies, including Iran. They have just increased their military budget 17.8 percent to $45 billion, with the help of the $1 trillion worth of holdings invested in America’s economy. Their loans have helped keep interest rates and prices manageable.
The president should exercise an extreme amount of caution before engaging the country in another war.
America is already in two Muslim countries, and attacking a third will make us look like the imperialist our detractors believe we are.
It is time to let rigorous diplomacy take its course, not fruitless warmongering and talks of a third world war.
If America were to preeminently invade Iran, the question changes from how do we stop Iran from starting WWIII to how does the world view us after we’ve started it?
