01/16/2002
EDITORIAL NUMBER=0-09649

KUWAIT, IRAQ, AND TERRORISM

Kuwait is one of many countries that have joined the United States in the war against terrorism. Such cooperation is essential. That is why, as William Burns, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, said on a visit to Kuwait, "We are determined to continue to work together."

The U.S.-Kuwaiti partnership became especially strong eleven years ago this month. That is when a U.S.-led coalition began its effort to liberate Kuwait from a brutal Iraqi occupation. On January 17^th, 1991, allied forces launched massive air strikes on Iraqi military targets. The strikes came after months of diplomatic activity failed to persuade Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein to withdraw. Coalition forces quickly gained control of the skies over Iraq and Kuwait. And in late February 1991, they began a ground attack. Within days, Kuwait was liberated.

In an attempt to ensure that Iraq would never again threaten the security of other countries, the United Nations Security Council required the Baghdad regime to eliminate all nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and long-range missiles, along with any programs to develop them. But from the beginning, Iraqi officials stalled and lied to U-N weapons inspectors. And for the last three years, the inspectors have not even been allowed into Iraq.

The U.S. and other countries have many reasons to be concerned about Iraq. Iraq is one of the few countries in the world to have used chemical weapons. Who can forget Saddam Hussein’s 1988 nerve and mustard gas attacks that killed some five-thousand Kurdish civilians in the northern Iraqi town of Halabja? Nor can Americans forget that in 1993, Iraqi agents tried to assassinate former President George Bush while he was visiting Kuwait.

Iraq is a longtime state sponsor of international terrorists. And there is ample evidence that al-Qaida and other terrorists are seeking chemical, biological, and even nuclear weapons. That is why, as President George W. Bush said, "If anybody harbors a terrorist, they’re a terrorist. If they fund a terrorist, they’re a terrorist. . . . If they develop weapons of mass destruction that will be used to terrorize nations, they will be held accountable. And as for Mr. Saddam Hussein," said President Bush, "he needs to let inspectors back [into Iraq], to show us that he is not developing weapons of mass destruction."