Is Iraq next? The U.S. accuses Saddam Hussein of developing nuclear and biological weapons. Some say he should be the next target in the war on terror.

• Author: Smith, Patricia
• Position: International - Brief Article

If ever there was a time for the United States to topple Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, this might well be it. That, at least, is how an increasing number of U.S. officials and policy analysts see it. Their rationale: Hussein's dangerous, we've been looking for an excuse to get rid of him for years, and the new global war on terrorism is as good a reason as any.

President George W. Bush's condemnation of Iraq as part of an "axis of evil" has brought the country back into the international spotlight. Many experts point to Iraq's past efforts to develop nuclear and biological weapons, and argue that the war on terrorism provides new impetus for a move against Iraq. And now, senior U.S. government officials say there is consensus within the Bush administration that Hussein must be overthrown, and plans to do so are being drawn up.

"With respect to Iraq, it has long been, for several years now, a policy of the United States government that regime change would be in the best interests of the region, the best interests of the Iraqi people," says Secretary of State Colin Powell.

The problem of Iraq, a Middle Eastern nation of 23 million, has been festering for more than a decade. In 1990, Iraqi troops invaded neighboring Kuwait, occupying it until an American-led military coalition drove them out in the 1991 Gulf War. Iraq was soundly defeated, but the coalition left Hussein in power. Since then, Iraq has suffered under United Nations economic sanctions that limit the amount of oil it can sell and what it can buy; and by U.S.-imposed "no-fly zones" that prohibit Iraqi flights over areas where some of Hussein's opponents live.

CRIPPLED NATION OR MAJOR THREAT?

The sanctions will remain until Iraq allows UN weapons inspectors to verify that it is no longer building weapons of mass destruction--nuclear, chemical, or biological--something Iraq has consistently refused to do. The last UN weapons-inspection team was expelled from Iraq in 1998.

Today, expert opinion on the extent of Iraq's threat varies. Some authorities maintain that the Gulf War and subsequent sanctions have largely destroyed the country's capacity to build major weapons. Others disagree, noting the history of Iraq's chemical and biological weapons programs. Tim McCarthy was a member of the UN weapons-inspection team ejected three years ago. "Even while we were there, the Iraqis were trying to do things they shouldn't have, so one can only imagine what they're doing while nobody's...