The World According to Oatney

Saddam on Nightline

Word is spreading across the blogosphere that tapes of Saddam Hussein will air on tonight's edition of Nightline in which Saddam discusses ways that America can be attacked with weapons of mass destruction. My wife said she saw a report this morning that said these tapes will show that while Saddam himself did not plan such an attack, he did know who was planning it.

If this turns out to be true, it could prove that Saddam had some sort of tie with terrorists, at least enough of one to know who (and/or what) was planning possible WMD attacks against this country, and perhaps even how severe these attacks might be.

I'll be bluntly honest: Before the war in Iraq began, I was adamantly opposed to the idea that the U.S. should go to war there. For me, it wasn't a factor of believing sanctions would work, or believing Saddam didn't need to be contained, as some did. Rather, it was the basic notion that our post-1950's propensity to involve ourselves in every foreign conflict known to man runs contrary to the intent of the founders of this nation. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't stand up to threats such as world Communism or fascism...but when we are not threatened, we do not need to involve ourselves, because if we do, we will create antagonism for America where none existed before.

The founders of our country understood this, and I share that philosophy with them. They believed, as I do, that a foreign policy of "splendid isolation" is nearly always the best course for America.

If these tapes prove that Saddam knew about a possible attack on America, they will blow the peacenik argument out of the water. Whether we should have gone to war would still be an open question, but the notion that Saddam did not represent a threat of some sort, or that he had no ties to terrorists, would be laid to rest.

I'll just bet you won't hear many Democrats talk about tonight's Nightline in the coming days.

posted by Deacon David Oatney @ 8:42 PM