A Matter of Principle: Humanitarian Arguments for War in Iraq

Current debate over the motives, ideological justifications, and outcomes of the war with Iraq have been strident and polarizing. A Matter of Principle is the first volume gathering critical voices from around the world to offer an alternative perspective on the prevailing pro-war and anti-war positions. The contribu-tors - political figures, public intellectuals, scholars, church leaders, and activists - represent the most powerful views of liberal internationalism. Offering alternative positions that challenge the status quo of both the left and the right, these essays claim that, in spite of the inconsistent justifications provided by the United States and its allies and the conflict-ridden process of social reconstruction, the war in Iraq has been morally justifiable on the grounds that Saddam Hussein was a brutal tyrant, a flagrant violator of human rights, a force of global instability and terror, and a threat to world peace. The authors discuss the limitations of the current system of global governance, which tolerates gross violations of human rights and which has failed to prevent genocide in places such as Bosnia and Rwanda. They also underscore the need for reform in international institutions and international law. At the same time, these essays do not necessarily attempt to apologize for the mistakes, errors, and deceptions in the way the Bush administration has handled the war. Disputing the idea that the only true liberal position on the war is to be against it, this volume charts an invaluable third course, a path determined by a strong liberal commitment to human rights, solidarity with the oppressed, and a firm stand against fascism, totalitarianism, and tyranny.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments Introduction: The Liberal-Humanitarian Case for the War in Iraq Thomas Cushman PART ONE RECONSIDERING REGIME CHANGE 1 The Case for Regime Change Christopher Hitchens 2 Liberal Legacies, Europe's Totalitarian Era, and the Iraq War: Historical Conjectures and Comparisons Jeffrey Herf 3 Regime Change": The Case of Iraq Jan Narveson 4 In the Murk of It: Iraq Reconsidered Mitchell Cohen PART TWO PHILOSOPHICAL ARGUMENTS 5 National Interest and International Law Roger Scruton 6 Just War against an Outlaw" Region Mehdi Mozaffari 7 Moral Arguments: Sovereignty, Feasibility, Agency, and Consequences Daniel Kofman PART THREE CRITIQUES OF THE LEFT 8 A Friendly Drink in a Time of War Paul Berman 9 Wielding the Moral Club Ian Buruma 10 Peace, Human Rights, and the Moral Choices of the Churches Mient Jan Faber 11 Ethical Correctness and the Decline of the Left Jonathan Ree 12 Pages from a Daily Journal of Argument Norman Geras 13 Liberal Realism or Liberal Idealism: The Iraq War and the Limits of Tolerance Richard Just PART FOUR EUROPEAN DIMENSIONS 14 Iraq and the European Left John Lloyd 15 Guilt's End: How Germany Redefined the Lessons of Its Past during the Iraq War Richard Herzinger 16 The Iraq War and the French Left Michel Taubmann 17 Tempting Illusions, Scary Realities, or The Emperor's New Clothes II Anders Jerichow PART FIVE SOLIDARITY 18 Antitotalitarianism as a Vocation: An Interview with Adam Michnik Thomas Cushman and Adam Michnik 19 Sometimes a War Saves People Jose Ramos-Horta 20 Gulf War Syndrome Mark II: The Case for Siding with the Iraqi People Johann Hari 21 They Don't Know One Little Thing" Pamela Bone 22 Why Did It Take You So Long to Get Here?" Ann Clwyd PART SIX LIBERAL STATESMANSHIP 23 Full Statement to the House of Commons, 18 March 2003 Tony Blair [24 The Threat of Global Terrorism Contributors Index

About the Author :
Thomas Cushman is Professor of Sociology at Wellesley and Editor in Chief of The Journal of Human Rights. He is coeditor of George Orwell into the Twentieth Century (2004) and editor of The Time We Knew: Western Reponses to the War in Bosnia (1996).

Review :
"The scholarship contained in this collection is superior: it includes the leading and most sophisticated advocates of liberal internationalism from the worlds of the academy, politics and the media. The arguments are complex and nuanced, and contribute to a new understanding of the Iraq war." - Richard A. Wilson, Director of the Human Rights Institute, University of Connecticut "This is a first-rate collection. By bringing together isolated, important, and at times iconoclastic voices on the issue of the invasion of Iraq, The Third Force makes for critical and provocative reading." - Michael Barnett, Stassen Professor of International Relations, Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota"