Kesher Talk

Reluctant warrior. Two months ago, Thomas Nephew wrote a closely reasoned and voluminously annotated argument in favor of the Iraq war. His decision was all the more compelling in that it was reluctant.

In the early days of this debate, in late 2001 and spring of 2002, I frequently argued against a war on Iraq. I brought up a number of good reasons:

* the war would detract from the one I cared about most, the one against Osama Bin Laden.
* a unilateral push to carry out this war would harm institutions that have by and large served the United States’ interests well.
* Saddam could be contained and deterred, just as the Soviet Union was during the Cold War.

I'll return to those arguments below. But first, I'll dismiss a few I've never believed in.

In the sea of ahistorical, emotion-driven, conspiracy-addicted, often just plain stupid antiwar arguments, Nephew was a breath of fresh air. His carefully-considered reasons for finally supporting the war were also a breath of fresh air. I think they've held up pretty well, so far, don't you? (Great discussion in the comment section, too.)

posted by Judith @ 4/23/2003 03:13:04 PM