Some libertarians I respect enormously oppose the war in Iraq. It was

only a matter of time, I suppose, that I might be criticized by them for

supporting it. The delay comes from the fact that I have not published

anything in support of the war, but have confined myself in print to

posting links on

to articles by those who have. The latest was a link to <a

href=”http://www.nationalreview.com/hanson/hanson080103.asp””>Hoping We

Fail, by Victor Davis Hanson, whose writings I have come to admire

over the past several months. Hanson can defend himself against the

criticisms made on Liberty and Power (<a

href=”http://hnn.us/articles/1621.html#09030303″>here and <a

href=”http://hnn.us/articles/1621.html#09010302″>here) and this

morning on NRO he offers another insightful essay that can serve as a

response: <a

href=”http://www.nationalreview.com/hanson/hanson090503.asp”>Are We at

War or Peace? Judging the Reconstruction in Iraq. Hanson writes,

“To summarize, we are in a war with the latest face of an age-old enemy

of civilization who hates the freedom of the individual, tolerance of

diverse thoughts and practices, human rights, democracy, and modernism

itself.” I am a libertarian and Hanson is a conservative so we do not

agree about everything. But unlike some libertarians, many on the Left,

some Republicans and many Democrats, I do think we are in a defensive

war and have been since we were attacked on 9/11. I further think that

the battle for Iraq is a legitimate part of that overall war, though it

and the war can still be lost. This, I believe, is the essence of our

disagreement.