Not since President Roosevelt has a sitting president had to deal with the aftermath of a catastrophic attack on the United States geographical territory itself. Never before had the NATO countries invoked their call to arms, standing poised to retaliate for the horrific deeds of these terrorists. Never has the United Nations faced such pressure to act with the consequences of inaction so high.

Never before has the world faced a foe that "is harboring terrorists and the instruments of terror, the instruments of mass death and destruction" and is willing to use them "on more than 40 villages of his own country," not to mention the world. "By its past and present actions É by the merciless nature of its regime, Iraq is unique," said the president several nights ago, in perhaps the biggest understatement of his presidency. In the solemnity fitting a funeral, but with the veracity of military leadership, Bush let America know of the threat it faces, and the perilous consequences of waiting any longer.

The facts and figures are staggering. A tyrant "addicted" to their use is stockpiling weapons of mass destruction ¯ chemical, biological and perhaps nuclear. Violations of the truce that ended the Gulf War are never ending. Weapons research and development facilities continue their progress toward mass destruction capacity even after U.N. resolutions forbade such action; military maneuvers destroying such plants are merely obstacles in Iraq's path to develop such weaponry.

Iraq's citizens know nothing of the freedoms and democracy for which we purport to stand. They live in constant fear of dictatorial madness, though some actively support the regime through terror activities themselves. Those that do not publicly support the regime risk systematic torture, raping of their wives or death. A nation with such policies does not have the right to join the civilized world at the United Nations bargaining table. It has cast its lot far from us, and as leaders of the free world, it is our duty to make safe its territory for peace and the embrace of democracy.

President Bush laid clear the path for Saddam Hussein to follow. Unlike what many believe, the first possible option is not unilateral military action by the United States. The authorization bill currently before Congress gives the president the authority to invoke military action only if United Nations measures fail. Even then, the use of force would be implemented only through a coalition of nations dedicated to eradicating this force of evil and its operations of mass destruction.

Yet why does the world not see this evil as clearly as our president and many political leaders? Inaction breeds ignorance, and ignorance inevitably breeds a false sense of security. Sept. 11, 2001, proved that the United States is not secure and that the threat of terror is omnipresent in the modern world. There are many who wish to destroy the very ideals our forefathers fought so desperately to gain. Our prior inaction has only brought our nation more hurt and sorrow, more attacks and rising hatred for our way of life. Waiting longer does nothing to stop the bleeding, nothing to mend the wounds. It only gives the enemy more time to restock their arsenals, to infect the wounds and spread its message of hate.

The cause against Iraq is not partisan or politically motivated. Those fighting for action strive only to act before our enemies attack again, using preemptive strikes to quell the possibility of future incidents. Our history shows that isolationism and ignorance only increase our vulnerability ¯ Pearl Harbor seemed impossible to those wishing the oceans would separate us from the impending conflict. President Bush has learned from our mistakes and is willing to take the risks involved in crushing the destructive forces within our world. Ridding the world of evil is a far nobler goal than partisan quarrelling over a blue-ribbon panel investigating the latest terrorist incident.

President Bush realized that the task at hand is nothing new to international politics. Using the words of Democratic President John F. Kennedy, he clearly laid the dilemma before the American people: "Neither the United States of America nor the world community of nations can tolerate deliberate deception and offensive threats on the part of any nation, large or small," he said. "We no longer live in a world where only the actual firing of weapons represents a sufficient challenge to a nation's security to constitute maximum peril."

We as Americans must accept the reality that danger exists without the firing of a shot. It is our obligation to the world to stop this terror before more innocent lives are lost.