Somewhere in the last few weeks the story has gone from the “war on terrorism” to war on Iraq. I think I was sleeping, because I missed the transition.

The Bush administration here at home and Tony Blair’s administration overseas in Britain has attempted to draw parallels between Al-Qaeda and Saddam, between terrorism and Saddam and between an alleged “Axis of Evil” and Saddam.

However, despite the allegations, the Bush and Blair administrations have so far been unable to produce a shred of solid evidence that any of this is the true. Tony Blair just released Britain’s dossier on Iraq and weapons of mass destruction, which is full of allegations, numbers and predictions — but no proof.

Not only is evidence of Saddam’s danger to the United States and the Western world lacking; so is support for U.S. unilateral military action, internationally, domestically and legally.

The Bush administration has argued that Saddam Hussein has “stood up” and “defied” the United Nations and that he must finally be forced to comply with U.N. resolutions.

However, if we are to force Iraq to obey U.N. resolutions, we must treat all countries accordingly. Israel, too, has failed to comply with UN resolutions and for much longer than Iraq has.

By not only allowing, but also actively promoting Israeli settlement of occupied Palestinian lands, acquired through military conquest, Israel is in clear and direct violation of the Geneva Convention, and several U.N. resolutions, all of which were ratified by countless nations, including the United States. So why isn’t Israel being forced to comply?

George Bush also claims that the United Nations’ credibility will be undermined if nothing is done to set forth harsh penalties on Iraq for non-compliance with U.N. resolutions. However, Bush says that the Untied States will act alone if the United Nations does not.

This action itself would be equally detrimental to the United Nations’ credibility, as it would show that not only does a ruthless dictator fail to comply with the United Nations, but also that the most free and democratic country in the world doesn’t care what the United Nations says, either.

This whole crisis isn’t really about national security or the fight against terrorism or non-compliance with U.N. resolutions. It’s about providing millions of Americans with cheap oil. If the United States cared about protecting the rights and lives of citizens living under an oppressive regime, then we would have intervened in Rwanda or earlier in The Balkans. If it was about combating the “Axis of Evil”, then why not hit Iran or North Korea?

If the war we’re fighting was really about terrorism, we would be sending U.N. Peacekeepers to intervene in Israel, and we would be opening our arms to the people of Iraq to lift them out of poverty and desperation, rather than strangling them with our self-defeating sanctions.

We would be using our wealth and power to improve living conditions of others, especially those who, if we deprive them of help now, may strike at us in the future.

So how do we win against Saddam? Not with military action. Sure, gather intelligence, send in weapons inspectors, but keep the bombers grounded and our loved ones at home. We have a secret weapon, and it won’t cause casualties on either side. We didn’t win the Cold War with nuclear weapons, blockades or stealth bombers, but rather with McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and Levi’s. The Cold War was won with culture.

We stormed the Red Square with Nike and played rock ‘n’ roll in the Kremlin. After the first Gulf War, our mistake was to impose sanctions and further hurt Iraq and its people. We all know that path didn’t work with Germany between World Wars, and it hasn’t changed Cuba’s government, either.

Instead of no-fly zones and trade sanctions, Iraq should be forced to build a McDonald’s on every corner.

Open up Iraq’s economy to trade, allow wealth to flow into the country, liberalize and modernize, let the Iraqi people take advantage of their oil, let them use it to help themselves, and in the long run, it will be cheaper for us, too.

Lift them out of the gutter, and they won’t have the need to follow a nutcase like Saddam. They’ll be rid of him, and the Iraqi people will be able to make it on their own, freely and democratically. Now, isn’t that more important that cheap oil?

–Adrian Andrijasevic ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in international relations and political science.