It doesn't take a genius to figure out that our current administration is heavily pushing for another war with Iraq and Saddam Hussein. When I say war, I mean we plan on mowing down the enemy to prevent a first strike. That's right. Due to our own paranoia, we are planning to strike first against a potential first strike.

In the past, I have written columns about mice in my house that had to be killed out of fear of them clawing out my eyes. While I always liked that metaphor, it appears that metaphors are not sufficient enough to get my point across in this situation. Therefore, we SHOULD NOT strike first against any country without enduring a tangible horrific incident.

When Pearl Harbor was blitzed, we entered World War II. The mysterious sinking of a patrol boat in the Gulf of Tonkin intensified our involvement in the Vietnam "conflict." When Iraq rolled in and occupied our oil friendly ally Kuwait, we worked up Desert Shield and Desert Storm. When the World Trade Center tumbled, we further scarred the battle-scarred terrain of Afghanistan. Now, we're back to talking about attacking Iraq.

Unlike other conflicts, we have no tangible infamous incident with Iraq. Saddam Hussein refuses to have inspectors come into his country. He keeps his people under his thumb and rules with an iron fist. He might have weapons of mass destruction. As the administration states, he is an evil man who has gassed his own people.

Unfortunately, being a evil dictator of a small country does not mean we should attack without provocation. There are evil dictators all over the world. Choose from a dozen countries in Africa and Asia. Castro is considered evil, but he doesn't really do anything. If we start waging war on evil dictators simply because we are afraid of experiencing an attack, we would be fighting half the globe.

I hate to say it, but as horrific as the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center was to our ego, it was merely a laceration that will leave a scar on Uncle Sam. The wound has healed, and we have moved on. No matter how much national security the administration promises, there will always be a general vulnerability to having an open society. That's the catch of freedom: even the crazy people are free. I walk down the street assuming no one will mug or attack me. If someone happens to sucker punch me, I will attack with all-out force. We need to take that approach with every malevolent nation or group in the world.

We should have gone after Osama bin Laden after Al­Qaeda attacked our battleship in Yemen. It was a tangible incident that we could point at for legitimate retaliation. We should have finished off Saddam in the Gulf War, but we didn't. It's too late to settle old scores. The statute of limitations has expired. All you war mongers now have to wait for another tangible incident before I will approve of any military action against Iraq.

Right now, we have almost no support for an attack by the international community, including best buddy Britain. Only Israel is in favor of an attack, and that's a nation well-known for its getting along with its neighbors. As much as the other nations are against helping us at the moment, they will all change their tune if and when Saddam launches an assault on our interests.

All the war mongers are now saying "What, we're supposed to sit back and wait for him to cause destruction?" Um, yeah. It's part of that eye-for-an-eye thing. Just like the Boy Scouts, we should be prepared, not paranoid. It's why we never went to war with the Soviet Union. Because as much as we were afraid of each other, one never actually attacked the other. The Cold War was a fearful peace, but a peace nonetheless.

Never attack until provoked. It's a simple rule. That guarantees tragic civilian casualties, but let me know of a war where civilians don't die. If you are worried about terrorist attacks, imagine how much motivation the Middle East will have if we engage in a first strike and blow Iraq out of the desert. They will stop at nothing to take a piece of United States with them when they before they leave the earth.

So President Bush, stop all of this war talk because it will only cause more tension and destruction. If you really want to get re-elected, the key is the economy, stupid. If you don't believe me, just ask your dad.

Chris Jungle was last sucker punched 10 years ago.