In Thursday's editorial about Colin Powell's UN speech, The San Francisco Chronicle said that Powell made a compelling case, but that
There are several compelling reasons for restraint at this moment.I'm not sure that "imminent threat" is the necessary standard for military action. And how is "imminent threat" even defined? For that matter, one could argue that Germany was not an "imminent threat" to the US in December 1941. Because even though Hitler had declared war on us, it's not like the Luftwaffe was circling over Philadelphia. One gets the impression that the Chronicle is not going to declare Saddam an "imminent threat" unless and until a committee of three lesbian Global Exchange members personally witness Saddam personally counting down the launch of a nuclear missile aimed at, say, a minority-owned organic grocery store in a Democratic precinct. The Chronicle concludesFor all the damning evidence of Hussein's tyranny and evil ambitions -- neither of which has been in doubt since the Persian Gulf War -- Powell did not show that Iraq amounted to an imminent threat to the United States.
Restraint and ever-toughening diplomacy should not be mistaken for weakness or appeasement of Iraq.No, nobody will ever mistake this for weakness or appeasement, because that is precisely what it is. "Ever-toughening diplomacy"? What exactly does the Chronicle have in mind? What are we to offer Saddam? What can we threaten him with that we haven't already threatened? Who in their right mind would believe any assurances that Saddam might give?
Rumfield responds to the Iraqi question of "imminent threat" of by referencing 9/11. He asks when was al-qaeda an "imminent threat": Was it during the organization and planning, when the terrorist boarded the planes, after one plane slammed into the trade center...exactly when do you define this "imminent threat". Sadly, the left defines "imminent threat" after the fact.
Posted by: Carlee on February 8, 2003 07:47 AM"Imminent" comes from the latin "imminens," which means "to project over or toward, threaten."
"Imminent" could also mean "impending," which, at least in one definition, means "to hover menacingly," as in "impending doom."
One who believes that Iraq (Saddam) is not an imminent threat not only misunderstands the meaning of the word, but also the meaning of the threat itself.
Posted by: Ipsofacto on February 8, 2003 09:10 PM