Published March 2004 — Download PDF of the original newspaper column
Byrd's-Eye View By U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd Looming Questions in Iraq
March 19 marked the one-year anniversary of America's invasion of Iraq. As the nation reflects on this milestone, our first thoughts should be of the service of the dedicated men and women of our Armed Forces. Americans owe them a debt of gratitude for their courage and patriotism. The costs of war have been very high. More than 580 American servicemen and women have lost their lives. Countless thousands of Iraqis have perished, among them many innocent civilians. The American people have sacrificed $121 billion taxpayer dollars for the war and the reconstruction of Iraq so far, and the end is not in sight. Large numbers of American troops will be tied down in Iraq for years, unless the White House reverses its unilateralist ways and brings in more foreign troops to stabilize the country. The White House's continued refusal to include the United Nations and its corps of nation-builders in Iraq in any serious manner means that turning power over to Iraqis soon will be difficult and dangerous. The Bush Administration should never have started this war before building a strong coalition. It is evident that the White House hype about weapons of mass destruction was no more than a rhetorical on-ramp to get this country on the road to war. The President claims the power to send this nation to war, whether or not we face an imminent threat. Despite vocal opposition from the people, Congress passed a blind and improvident authorization for war in October 2002, buying into the dangerous doctrine of preemptive war. This hand-off of power should be reexamined. A foreign policy based upon striking first and asking questions later shreds the Constitutional requirement that gives Congress, not the President, the last word on questions of war and peace. Moreover, this unilateralist doctrine has turned the image of the United States into that of a bully on the international stage. In seeking to eliminate what the Administration claimed was a terrorist haven, we have created a swamp of violence instead. By rushing to act without the strong support of the community of nations, the Bush Administration has isolated America and made targets of the few allies we retained. As we begin the second year of war and occupation in Iraq, will we now insist on continuing the disastrous mistake of a highly visible, made-in-America occupation? I hope that the Bush Administration will learn from its errors and chart a new course in Iraq. March 24, 2004