On the weapons inspectors' reports

The United States should allow more time for the inspections to proceed, as requested by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, as well as by our many European and Middle Eastern allies.

Let us see this as an extraordinary opportunity:

• To demonstrate to the Muslim world that the United States is governed by reason and law, and not by thirst for blood, oil and world domination.
• To allow time for the world to learn together what is really happening in Iraq.
• To convince the U.N. that the United States respects international law and the cooperation of nations, and will not stoop to bullying to get what it wants.
• To show the world community that it is a grown-up on the world stage, and not a renegade anxious to go it alone.
• To prove to the world that it really will do everything in its power to avoid war.

In the words of former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, "What's at stake is the legitimacy of our global leadership." In reacting to the reports of the U.N. weapons inspectors, the United States can show itself to be a judicious and enlightened world leader, eager to use its enormous wealth and influence for good in the world, and not a group of unruly thugs ready to impose their will on other nations for economic and political gain.