About 40 people gathered in Dane Smith Hall Wednesday night to hear two speakers debate the pros and cons of waging war against Iraq.
The pro speaker for the event was Alex Hughes, a UNM sophomore and member of the College Republicans.
He talked about the number of banned weapons that Saddam Hussein has in his possession and that are currently missing.
"He also has in his possession 15,000 shells for use in biological warfare," Hughes said.
He showed images of Iraqi weapons sites, nuclear weapon facilities, research and development sites, administration and design offices and chemical plants.
Hughes said that France imports more than 75 percent of its oil from Iraq and that Iraq owes Russia nearly 10 billion dollars. Therefore, both countries would naturally be hesitant to go to war, he said.
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The presentation's con speaker was Charlie Clements, executive director of Water Works, an organization that helps small communities without running water and sewer lines. Clements is also a Vietnam veteran and a public health physician.
Clements began his rebuttal by commenting on President George Bush's statement to the American Enterprise Institute. Bush told the institute that he does not need the approval of the United Nations' Security Council and will proceed with a war against Iraq if the council chooses to ignore him.
"This is a violation of the United Nations charter itself," Clements said. "It undermines the institution that we have helped build for 50 years -- an institution that was designed to stop crimes against humanity as well as to authorize the use of force between nations."
Clements said that the foreign ministers of Iraq's neighboring countries are meeting to see how they can avoid war. He said that they look at U.S. intervention as a threat to stability of the region, he said.
"We are essentially making war on a large refugee camp," Clements said.
He added that 50 percent of Iraq is unemployed and 60 percent of its population depends on the country's food for oil program to survive. He also mentioned Iraq's widespread malnutrition, poor water sanitation systems and several disease problems.
Clements said that Hussein would likely bomb oil fields in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia as a last source of defiance.
At an estimated cost of $200 billion, the shaky U.S. economy cannot afford war, Clements said. He added that Bush has not budgeted any of that money for the proposed war.
Africa's Friends Reaching the International Community for Africa, a UNM student organization also known as AFRICA, sponsored the presentation.
