Don't attack without proof

There is no "smoking gun." Regardless, the Executive Branch of the United States is set on pursuing a war with Iraq. Within the past two weeks, U.N. weapons inspectors have found 16 empty warheads about 90 miles outside of Baghdad. Despite this discovery of what the Bush administration considers evidence of Saddam Hussein's continued "material breach" of Iraq's commitment to the U.N.'s resolution against weapons of mass destruction, war is not the answer until there is proof that Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction.\nHans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei, the U.N.'s head weapons inspectors, have said that the discovery of these 16 empty warheads does not necessarily mean anything. While Blix said that the warheads should have been declared and destroyed, he also said, "They were in boxes, never opened -- there were bird droppings on them," and that without a further inquiry, it will be impossible to know whether or not these were "remnants of the past (or) the tip of the iceberg." Further, Blix and ElBaradei have reported to the U.N. Security Council that there is yet no proof of any nuclear weapons in Iraq.\nBut senior Bush administration officials do not want to give Iraq any more time. Despite uneasy feelings among the American public and mounting international opposition to war by the likes of Turkey, Germany, France, Russia and China (the latter three being permanent members of the U.N. Security Council), as well as U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair proclaiming that the weapons inspectors need time to do their job, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell has said publicly that the United States is willing to attack Iraq alone. In tonight's State of the Union address, President Bush will no doubt echo this sentiment and attempt to prove to America why a war is necessary, despite no real evidence of the alleged "30,000 warheads" the Bush administration claims Iraq possesses.\nAs a country with a rich history of disallowing government intervention into the private lives of its citizens, it seems odd that the United States so often feels the need to zealously intervene with the affairs of other countries. Unquestionably, Iraq is not a model nation, and Saddam Hussein has a tumultuous history of human rights violations and disdain for the United States. However, until that "smoking gun" is found, and until the United States rallies more international support, there is no need to risk further international isolation and criticism, as well as the lives of our military and the lives of innocent Iraqi citizens, who will no doubt perish in the wake of U.S. bombing campaigns. Right now, war is not the right solution, and it will not be the right solution until it is the only remaining option.\n-- Andrew LeMar for the Editorial Board