CLINTON, N.Y., Feb. 12 (AScribe Newswire) -- To brand anti-war activism as anti-American is offensive and dangerously anti-democratic. Such attempts to silence dissent also do a profound disservice to our nation.

Those who oppose the coming war including many like myself who supported military action in Afghanistan are raising important questions about not only the morality of invading Iraq, but also about what such an action will do to our nation.

Saddam Hussein is a monster and he must be disarmed. But how? Those who support the war, including the Bush administration, have not adequately addressed any of the following questions:

Have we really exhausted all other options but all-out invasion?

Was a few months really enough time for the inspectors?

Aren't the lives of perhaps hundreds of American soldiers and thousands of Iraqis most of them innocent civilians worth enough to wait several months, even a year longer?

If war with Iraq, then why diplomacy with North Korea, which is an arguably even more dangerous regime?

Can we afford to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on war and military occupation in Iraq when our economy is weak, pressing domestic needs are underfunded and the White House is hell-bent on cutting taxes?

Should we be focusing on Iraq when al-Qaida is building its strength in plenty of other places besides Baghdad?

Are we prepared to deal with an explosion of anti-American hostility in the Islamic world and elsewhere?

Are we prepared to deal with an upsurge in terrorism?

How many more Americans will be casualties of terrorism?

How many Israelis will die when Saddam vengefully strikes out?

If we are interested in reducing terrorism and fostering stability in the Middle East, why not focus on an evenhanded solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, instead of starting another war in this volatile region?

Will unilateral pre-emption provide an excuse for other nations with grievances against their neighbors to do the same?

And, finally, what will be the domestic impact of acting like a great imperial power rather than a humanitarian democracy?

Empires are usually tyrannical toward their own citizens. Is this what we want to become? If it is "anti-American" to raise these issues, then someone had better save our country from its "friends."

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Peter F. Cannavo is a visiting assistant professor of government at Hamilton College in Clinton, NY, received a Ph.D. from Harvard University, an M.P.A. from Princeton Universitys Woodrow Wilson School, and an A.B. from Harvard University. Peters work and teaching are in areas of political theory, environmental politics, and ethics and public policy. He is currently writing a book on conceptions of place and work in contemporary environmental politics.