Headache upon Headache

THE problem with the Iraq debate is that as soon as one tough question appears to be settled, another even harder one rises to take its place. For example, suppose one concludes—as I have—that the narrowly defined security risks of going to war against Iraq are smaller than the risks of waiting and watching for trouble to multiply. That is an important question, and just six months ago, most war hawks and doves alike thought it the only one to hand. But it has only led to another: If the United States goes to war either alone or without U.N. Security Council sanction, would the possible damage to its reputation for generous and benign international conduct be severe enough to reverse that judgment? And even if one gets by that question and is still inclined to war—as I am—a third, related question compounds the calculation: What is the United States to do with Iraq once it gets it?

Mr. Garfinkle is editor of The National Interest.

About the Author

Adam Garfinkle

Mr. Garfinkle is editor of The American Interest and author, most recently, of Jewcentricity: Why the World Praises, Blames, and Uses the Jews to Explain Nearly Everything (Wiley, 2009).

Featured Tags

THE problem with the Iraq debate is that as soon as one tough question appears to be settled, another even harder one rises to take its place. For example, suppose one concludes—as I have—that the narrowly defined security risks of going to war against Iraq are smaller than the risks of waiting and watching for trouble to multiply. That is an important question, and just six months ago, most war hawks and doves alike thought it the only one to hand. But it has only led to another: If the United States goes to war either alone or without U.N. Security Council sanction, would the possible damage to its reputation for generous and benign international conduct be severe enough to reverse that judgment? And even if one gets by that question and is still inclined to war—as I am—a third, related question compounds the calculation: What is the United States to do with Iraq once it gets it?

Mr. Garfinkle is editor of The National Interest.

About the Author

Adam Garfinkle

Mr. Garfinkle is editor of The American Interest and author, most recently, of Jewcentricity: Why the World Praises, Blames, and Uses the Jews to Explain Nearly Everything (Wiley, 2009).