behind the conflict
Two Yale scholars -- Rashid Khalidi and John Gaddis -- offered their opposing thoughts on the war in Iraq on April 17 in a debate sponsored the Yale Coalition for Peace and Yale College Students for Democracy.
The event in Luce Hall was part of the University's series of teach-ins on the war.
Gaddis, the Robert A. Lovett Professor of Military and Naval History, defended the U.S.-led intervention, while Khalidi, professor of history and Near Eastern languages and civilizations at the University of Chicago, criticized the maneuver.
Gaddis rebutted pacifists who view war as categorically unjustifiable, by responding, "It's not true that war never solves anything." Citing the American Revolution, the Civil War, World War II and the war in Afghanistan, Gaddis said armed combat has rid the world of many scourges. If those who advocate opposition to all wars had prevailed, Gaddis said, "We wouldn't be sitting here today."
To the argument that Iraq wasn't a direct threat to the United States, Gaddis countered that such reasoning reflected a very "outdated understanding of threats to national security." He offered the perspective that historically, national security was only perceived as threatened by hostile, "visible" states. With the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the international military landscape had changed, Gaddis contended. The world learned that "invisible" gangs using weapons of mass destruction could wreak far worse damage than nation-states.
While Gaddis conceded that Saddam Hussein had never attacked America, he thought that America's aim in waging the war was not simply to rid the world of the dictator, but to change conditions that give rise to totalitarian, authoritarian regimes in the region. Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Pakistan, Gaddis argued, are authoritarian states that might benefit from the presence of a stable democracy in Iraq.
To the charge that the war in Iraq was ultimately only about oil, Gaddis responded that the United States supports Israel, which has no oil. According to Gaddis, our support for the only democracy in the region gives credence to the Woodrow Wilson ideology that the path to security is through democracy.
Gaddis said that contrary to arguments by some, it is not impossible to establish a democracy where it has not existed before, citing the U.S. presence in post-war Japan and Germany.
While it is true, as many have protested, that the war might signal the rise of a new imperialism, Gaddis argued, empire building is a good thing. Greed, ambition and arrogance might be major motives in building empires, he admits, but so are the need to provide security, combat anarchy and to spread values.
Khalidi argued that all of the Bush administration's pretexts for the war in Iraq were those put forth to justify the war in Vietnam. The war in Southeast Asia was also supposed to be a preemptive one, waged to protect our national security, he said. The arguments are no less specious for this war, Khalidi argued. Iraq was never a danger to us and there was no connection between 9/11 and Iraq, he said, quoting President George W. Bush in a statement where the president admits this fact.
Khalidi also said that there was no evidence that Iraq has nuclear or biological weapons of mass destruction. As for chemicals, he pointed out, from 1980 to 1988 the U.S. government helped the Iraqi government to develop them.
Khalidi also described what he deems a dangerous challenge to the international system posed by Bush policies. The war has alienated the entire world, he argued. "We are totally alone in this effort, with the exception of Sancho Panza Blair."
As for the democratic rule of law being established in Iraq, Khalidi cynically predicted that the Iraqis will "get the government we want them to have, until our soldiers leave."
Khalidi charged that American forces protecting Iraqi oil fields while the ancient antiquities of Iraq's museums were being looted gave a good indication of America's actual priorities.
He voiced concern that so far from securing peace in the region, the Iraq war will be only lead to further wars. The history of Rome and Athens has taught us, Khalidi said, "No republic can survive at home when it becomes an empire abroad."
-- By Dorie Baker
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