There has been a fierce debate in Washington and around the world concerning Bush's wish for war on Iraq. SW has recently characterized this debate as a matter of "not if, but when" (August 9). At this stage, I don't think that this is true.

What they are debating is whether or not to invade Iraq and overthrow Hussein, and what the costs of that--political, economic and military--will be. If the debate was limited to "when, not if," the only difference of opinion would be numbers of U.S. troops, bombs and so on.

The reason they aren't carpet-bombing Iraq right now testifies to the seriousness of the divisions within the Bush administration, within the American ruling class and between the ruling classes of the world.

Saying that war is a matter of "when, not if" means that there is nothing our side can do to stop it. What we need to say, especially to activists is this: right now, the people at the top are divided. We need to take advantage of their infighting before the debate does become a matter of "when, not if."

Binh, New York City

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