Response to James Sterba's just war

James Sterba makes a very convincing argument, if one overlooks the flaws inherent in his most basic premises. Sterba asserts that “we now know that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction nor any connection to Al Qaeda” (Sterba 56). Iraq does in fact have ties to Al Qaeda for several reasons. During the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, Abdul Rashman Yasin of the Al Qaeda terrorist network was able to flee the United States shortly after detonation. Where did Yasin flee to? To Iraq of course! In fact, Yasin was given both a house and monthly salary in Iraq. 1 To completely refute Sterba’s claim of the Iraq not having ties to terrorism, The Weekly Standard reports about Saddam's Terror Training Camps. Over the four years preceding the war, thousands of terrorists were trained in Iraq. During the 3 years of war in Iraq, over two million documents have been captured. So far, only 50,000 have actually been examined, and those that have, show Iraq’s plans on a Weapons of Mass Destruction program, including scientists. 2   Thus, both of Sterba’s claims are incorrect. If Sterba is wrong, then we are in fact justified for going to war in Iraq.

Even if oil was one of the motives for war, it was not the only motive. By deposing Saddam, the United States sent a strong message to other tyrants across the world.

The United States has fought the war in Iraq in a just way. By building democracy in Iraq, we are creating a paragon for other Middle Eastern countries to follow.

In conclusion, we were justified in going to war, and we have fought in a just way.

Works Cited
1. http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=092503F
2. http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/006/
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