What goes around, comes around.

And just as the anniversary of the Persian Gulf War came and went last week, rumblings of trouble in Iraq have returned.

Just 11 months ago, President Bush addressed the American people as coalition forces completed the "destruction" of the Iraqi military machine. But apparently that destruction was far from complete.

It was reported earlier this month that Saddam Hussein has retained hundreds of Scud missiles and has the capability to rebuild nuclear, biological and chemical weapons within two years.

But the proliferation of nuclear weapons is not limited to Iraq. Nuclear technology is spreading elsewhere, and with the recent breakup of the Soviet Union, the potential for Soviet nuclear experts to take their knowledge elsewhere is great.

Although the United States must work to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, we must realize that more countries will eventually obtain that technology. The United States must strive through diplomacy and sanctions to avoid war with Iraq and other countries.

Unfortunately not all Americans endorse such measures. Two-thirds of Americans would approve of attacking Iraq if Hussein builds nuclear weapons.

No doubt, the world would be a better -- and safer -- place without nuclear weapons, but repeated bombings and wars will only prolong the very violence we should be working against.

It is not the United States' role to bomb every country that does not play along in our new world order games.

Hopefully Bush and other U.S. policy makers learned a lesson last year and now realize how little our intervention accomplished. Saddam Hussein is still in power and Kuwait is still not a democracy.

The world is no more stable as a result of the bombing of Iraq. With this as an example, perhaps future conflicts will be dealt with more constructively.