Ed Wood "The Right Stuff" Published Oct. 2, 2002

Fish or cut bait!

I don't know if it was "Fish or cut bait," or the more likely Texas term, "Put up or shut up," but either way, the message of President Bush to the United Nations was to either lead, follow, or get out of the way. The United States of America will stop Saddam Hussein, with or without you!

It's been 11 years now since the Gulf War. As you may recall, GHW #1 was persuaded not to pursue Saddam into Baghdad in return for his accepting a United Nations "resolution" that he would disarm, quit killing his own people and others, and permit a United Nations inspection team to make sure he kept his word.

Well, he didn't. So the UN issued another resolution. In fact, they have issued a total of 16 such resolutions in the past 11 years, and Saddam hasn't abided by any of them! And then he thumbed his nose at the UN by kicking their inspection team clear out of the county.

So we were told that Saddam is just another crack-pot dictator, much like many others whose ambassadors populate the United Nations. Sure, he is a lot of bluster, but he has launched no direct military attacks. So we, and others, just let him be. But then Sept. 11, 2001 came along, and nearly 3,000 American citizens were killed. Now it's a different story.

President Bush laid it all out in his speech to the United Nations: "Saddam Hussein, more than any other world leader, poses a clear and present danger to the United States and its allies. Saddam's regime is a grave and gathering danger. To assume this regime's good faith is to bet the lives of millions and the peace of the world on a reckless gamble. A risk we must not take."

The action President Bush proposes in toppling Saddam Hussein is severe. And American lives will be lost. But the consequences of doing nothing are even more severe. And more American lives will be lost.

Even Senate Majority Leader Thomas A. Daschle, D-SD, is now saying, "We all ought to recognize the military option ought to be the last option, but it ought to be a real option." Still, there are those in Congress, and in the UN, who say Cowboy Bush must not shoot until Saddam draws first. "Code of the West," you know.

Even that noted expert on international relations, Yoko Ono, wife of the late Beatle John Lennon, advises Bush to "Give Peace a Chance."

Well, all that is good and proper, but there's another bit of advice that appears on what is known as the "Gadsden" flag, familiar to many in Bush's home state of Texas. It says, "Don't Tread on Me!" Frankly, I like that one better.

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Ed Wood is a resident of Sparta, TN. His column is published each Wednesday in the Crossville Chronicle.