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Editorial: From Baghdad to Taipei

Given that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein remained unwilling to disarm after a lengthy international debate and diplomatic effort, US President George W. Bush issued a 48-hour ultimatum earlier this week, which meant military conflict would be inevitable if Saddam did not leave Iraq.

Yesterday morning, Bush announced the beginning of the military campaign. It is regrettable that no peaceful resolution to the dispute was found and that the US was still unable to disarm Iraq even with the threat of a looming war. Now that the war has begun in earnest, we can only pray that it may end early, that its scope may be as small as possible and that the casualties may be kept to a minimum.

Taiwan is a peace-loving country. Having experienced the agony of war and turmoil in the past, the people of Taiwan know the evils of war -- the immense suffering that it brings to people -- and therefore oppose war as a solution to disputes. However, when war is a necessary evil for maintaining lasting peace -- ?and when only by resorting to force can one eliminate the threat of terrorism -- a "surgical use of force" may become inevitable.

This is the stated objective of the US campaign in Iraq this time. Being a long-time, faithful ally of Washington, Taiwan understands the American stance on military action. Even though Taiwan is not actually participating in the campaign, it is nevertheless willing to help contribute to the reconstruction of Iraq after the war.

One reason cited by the US for the attack is that it believes Iraq has weapons of mass destruction -- including biological and chemical weapons -- which threaten its own citizens, as well as citizens of other countries. Since Taiwan faces more than 400 Chinese missiles deployed against it, its people certainly can understand American concerns.

According to estimates by US military experts, the number of Chinese missiles aimed at Taiwan is increasing by 75 per year. Not only has Beijing refused to renounce the use of force against Taiwan, but it has also fired missiles into the seas near Taiwan in the run-up to the 1996 presidential election. If the US had not intervened then, by sending aircraft carriers to the region, the situation could have developed very differently.

At a time when global attention is focused on the US-Iraq war, we must remind countries around the world that China also possesses weapons of mass destruction. It also has the will to use military force, as well as a record of using military force. The situation in the Taiwan Strait is a time bomb.

Having lived under China's military threat for so long, Taiwan understands that it must remain vigilant against that threat. This country therefore must maintain appropriate defense capabilities to deter reckless action from Beijing.

As China increases its defense budget each year to build up its arsenal, the risk of the cross-strait situation spinning out of control will increase if Taipei does not maintain superiority in terms of weapons quality. Countries around the world should understand that appeasing China and blocking Taiwan's weapons purchases are detrimental to security in the Strait.

The US-Iraq war will cause vast casualties and devastate the lives of many people. This is a tragedy for humanity. This is a failure of the American and Iraqi leaders. It is also a failure of the UN.

Now that conflict has arrived in the Persian Gulf, we hope it will teach the world an important lesson: Countries need to review their international organizations and frameworks so that order may be restored quickly in Iraq and the rest of the world.

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