Bombs over Baghdad – it’s a familiar refrain – but the latest American and British attacks on Iraq are drawing harsh criticism, both across the pond and in our own back yard.
The new President Bush says he’s set to take a tougher line against Saddam Hussein – perhaps he’ll even finish what his father started. But if Friday’s mission was a start, and a statement – where does it stop? While President Clinton’s regular responses to Iraq stayed below the radar screen – this premeditated and supposedly prophylactic attack is being seen by some as a stepping-up — in a war that ought to be over.
There’s little doubt that Iraq remains a danger to its neighbors and even its own ethnic minorities – but sanctions are slipping, the celebrated coalition is fraying – and Arab sentiment is with America’s enemy.
(Hosted by Christopher Lydon)
Guests:
Peter Grier, Defense Correspondent with the Christian Science Monitor
and retired Marine Lt. General Bernard Trainor. Kate Sealy, NPR Middle East Correspondent
Tom Jackson, Independent Film Maker, spent two months in Basra experiencing life under sanctions.