The president said: “Other countries possess weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles. With Saddam, there is one big difference: He has used them, not once but repeatedly — unleashing chemical weapons against Iranian troops during a decade-long war, not only against soldiers, but against civilians, firing Scud missiles at the citizens of Israel, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Iran. And not only against a foreign enemy, but even against his own people, gassing Kurdish civilians in Northern Iraq. “The international community had little doubt then, and I have no doubt today, that left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will use these terrible weapons again.” Many people will say that those are the words of a man who is greedy for oil, a warmonger, a bigger threat to the world than Saddam Hussein. However, those are the words of President Clinton on Dec. 16, 1998. Sens. Tom Daschle and Patrick Leahy co-sponsored Senate Resolution 71, which urged “the president to take all necessary and appropriate actions to respond to the threat posed by Iraq’s refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs.” Today, those senators stand firmly against President Bush. So what has changed since 1998• Saddam had more than four years without inspectors to expand his arsenal of weapons, yet our leaders seem to be willing to jeopardize the lives of American citizens for the sake of politics. Ryan Pergola Monongahela

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