Three Reason-able Questions

Reason asks three questions of numerous commentators and punditry in Iraq Progress Report - Advocates for liberty weigh in after three years . Since reason didn't ask me, I thought I would answer anyway from an Australian context.

1. Did you support the invasion of Iraq?

No. I don't recall fully believing all the claims of weapons and threats that were being touted by US, UK and Australia. I thought at the time it was pretty flimsy and looked more like manipulating public perception than genuine evidence.

2. Have you changed your position?

No. I remain convinced that the weakness in most despotic systems is their desire for western legitimacy by holding corrupt elections. This was how Indonesia over-threw Suharto. I suspect it will be how Iran, Egypt and others transition to liberal democracy as well. Saudi Arabia remains a problem due to its lack of elections at all.

3. What should the U.S Australia do in Iraq now?

I advocated in the past that Australia ditch Iraq as an American expedition and return to the original goal which was the eradication of Al Queda and the Taliban in Afghanistan .

How Others Replied

Jim Henley of Unqualified Offerings wrote to question one;

No. Hayek does not stop at the water's edge. What the hawks proposed to do to Iraq was just the foreign policy version of central planning and likely to work as well.

Has Christopher Hitchens changed his position?

Not in the least: I wish only that Saddam had not been able to rely upon Russian and French protection and the influence of oil-for-food racketeers and other political scum.

Has John Mueller changed his position?

Hardly. The main issue now is whether the war has become the greatest debacle in American foreign policy history or only the second greatest, after Vietnam.

What does Charles Murray of the American Enterprise Institute think the US should do in Iraq?

Damned if I know.

Micheal Young of the Beirut Daily Star offered a more detailed response to the final question;

It [US] should maintain its military presence, even if that means modifying it in such a way as to avoid the semblance of military occupation. It should plan to stick around for the long term, regardless of domestic pressures. And it should oversee a genuine, consensual process of national dialogue and stabilization in Iraq, not a self-defeating handing over of power to security forces that are, in reality, cover for sectarian militias. This continued American presence is essential—to buttress democratic forces elsewhere in the region, to counterbalance Iran's growing power, and to prevent the outbeak of civil war in Iraq.

Embracing a form of federalism with each ethnic group having an autonomous area in conjunction with a staged withdrawal of troops seems to be the another offered suggestion as to what to do in Iraq.
Permalink, Three Reason-able Questions, Apr 2006, cam
avocadia: My Answers:

1. Did you support the invasion of Iraq?

Yes and No. And Yes.  I didn\'t buy into the danger of bioweapons and chemical weapons at all. The requirements for a sucessful attacks are such that we should be actively encouraging rogue groups to try it - it would distract them from the infinitely more efficient use of standard explosives. Nuclear weapons area different story but I didn\'t believe there was any danger of one being delivered. So no. On the otherhand, I think deposing Hussein was a worthy goal, and perhaps the ends justified the mean. At the same time, I assumed that the US were serious about it, were going to rebuild the place, were going to secure the place.

2. Have you changed your position?

In hindsight, the ends do not justify the means. The US - and the rest - have done a terrible job of securing the country, which has crippled their ability to rebuild the country. I don\'t know if there was ever a chance of properly securing the country. If they had secured it and had made headway in rebuilding, maybe I would still have some support for the invasion.

3. What should Australia do in Iraq now?

If Australia is not going to make a meaningful contribution to securing and rebuilding Iraq, then it should leave. Same again for Afghanistan. I\'d be inclined to stay in Afghanistan and transfer the troops in Iraq to join the troops in Afghanistan, if there was some meaningful contribution occuring. I don\'t think there is. I think the money would be better spent on training Afghani forces - rather than securing the country ourselves - and on a joint anti-terrorism taskforce with ASEAN nations.

Having said that, I\'m not even an armchair general. More a cabana general, or even a footrest general.

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