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December 09, 2002

The Liberal Quandary Over Iraq

The NY Times has a great article about the issues facing those with a liberal POV relating to the impending war in Iraq. In interviewing four leftist writers and thinkers about the lack of a massively organized anti-war movement, many of the conflicts being felt on an internal level are explained and debated. Read it here

They even break the argument down into the core pro and con arguments on the issue:

For War

  1. Saddam is cruel and dangerous.
  2. Saddam has used weapons of mass destruction and has never stopped trying to develop them.
  3. Iraqis are suffering under tyranny and sanctions.
  4. Democracy would benefit Iraqis.
  5. A democratic Iraq could drain influence from repressive Saudi Arabia.
  6. A democratic Iraq could unlock the Israeli-Palestinian stalemate.
  7. A democratic Iraq could begin to liberalize the Arab world.
  8. Al Qaeda will be at war with us regardless of what we do in Iraq.

Against War

  1. Containment has worked for 10 years, and inspections could still work.
  2. We shouldn't start wars without immediate provocation and international support.
  3. We could inflict terrible casualties, and so could Saddam.
  4. A regional war could break out, and anti-Americanism could build to a more dangerous level.
  5. Democracy can't be imposed on a country like Iraq.
  6. Bush's political aims are unknown, and his record is not reassuring.
  7. America's will and capacity for nation building are too limited.
  8. War in Iraq will distract from the war on terrorism and swell Al Qaeda's ranks.

Posted by nothingistrue at December 9, 2002 02:42 PM

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Comments

Yes but.

1. Bush is cruel and dangerous.
2. Iraqis are suffering under tyranny and sanctions just like Kuwait, Iran and Saudi Arabia.
3. Democracy would benefit Iraqis but extremely unlikely that it would actually happen.

Posted by: Jake at December 11, 2002 04:59 PM

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