Powell will get results, but not in the way he wants

Let's list the facts first, since so many bloggers have chosen to ignore them. This is not a blog, this is a column; so it will include things such as facts, rationale, and critical thinking.

Some blogger will probably try to use that last line against me in an amusing way. Too bad it won't work.

Colin Powell addressed the United Nations this morning, and he was the first person from the U.S. Government to show actual bits of proof regarding Iraq. This is a first, and I'm glad the U.S. Government has decided to stop treating the American people like a bunch of ignorant children who are on a need-to-know basis.

Powell's presentation consisted of two main things:

1. Satellite images of suspicious activity that could mean Iraq is hiding weapons.
2. Taped conversations between Iraq personnel that include conversations about inspections and weapons.

Let's start with the satellite images. These images are indeed intriguing, but if Powell tried to use such "proof" in a court of law, the judge would throw it out in a second. Yes, the images raise legitimate suspicions, but the indications are still nothing more than pure speculation. You can't execute the suspect until you find the murder weapon. It sucks, but these are the rules of law, the rules of war, and the rules of life in general.

But the real discussion piece was the taped conversations. Though only one of the three recordings had merit, it was indeed the first logical evidence offered by our country. In the recording, an Iraqi military officer tells another officer that the expression "nerve agents" is not to be used in conversation (the actual translated comment was, "remove the expression . . . from wireless instructions", but it was Powell's assumption that "wireless instructions" referred to all conversation).

Of course, this doesn't mean Iraq is necessarily developing weapons with nerve agents. The information was likely just a simple reminder that even the discussion of such things is dangerous when the country is under inspection. But the recording is a good start, and hopefully the assertiveness of Powell's speech will add to Iraq's discomfort.

The rest of Powell's speech, unfortunately, consisted of nothing more than testimonials from anonymous sources. I've never been a fan of Woodward and Bernstein's style of "proof", and I'm certainly not going to think any differently when our government does it.

As a journalist, I will never write a story with anonymous sources. It's against any decent journalist's ethics, and the purpose of such a tactic is beyond my understanding. Anonymous sources don't provide proof; they provide a level of information equivalent to gossip. If the sources are unnamed, the information is unjustified.

But Powell has provided our country with a starting point, and that's what matters. He raised the eyebrows of French and German leaders, and it resulted in France recommending that the U.N. triple the amount of inspectors. This is the way to go. We don't have enough proof to start dropping bombs, but we have enough speculation to put a lot of pressure on Iraq.

The pro-war people reading this are probably shaking their heads, saying, "We have to do something before it's too late!" Haste is a must for the pro-war crowd, because like Powell and Bush, they're pushing the idea that Iraq could attack us any minute. This is simply not true. Powell said in his presentation that the illegal missles Iraq is supposedly producing have a range of roughly 620 miles. That's a long way from America.

The other possible threat, the weapons of mass destruction, require huge research facilities, huge production facilities, and huge deployment facilities. Iraq is only about the size of California, which means it would take an impossible miracle for them to set up and fire such a weapon at us without our spies and inspectors noticing. Also, if Iraq were working on weapons of mass destruction, that work would have been brought to a standstill until the threat of detection was gone. The threat of detection is not only still here, it's stronger than ever.

So read this sentence twice, pro-war crowd: Iraq does not have the ability to attack America right now.

It's high time we moved on to a logical solution. Triple the amount of inspectors. Use reconnaissance planes this time, with or without Saddam Hussein's approval. With these intense, around-the-clock strategies, we'll find anything and everything Iraq has to hide. We have the support of 10 U.N. Security Council members to back us up on this method, and that gives us the ability to do what we couldn't do in an appropriate way before.

Through this method, we will gain allies and reduce the tremendous costs an unnecessary war would bring to American taxpayers. The U.N. has spoken, and they are working with us. If we follow their lead, America will be a better place in the end.