The Iraq War. A Philosophical Analysis. Bassam Romaya

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1 The Iraq War

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3 The Iraq War A Philosophical Analysis Bassam Romaya

4 the iraq war Copyright Bassam Romaya, Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition All rights reserved. First published in 2012 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN in the United States a division of St. Martin s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number , of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave and Macmillan are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN ISBN (ebook) DOI / Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Romaya, Bassam. The Iraq War : a philosophical analysis / Bassam Romaya. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Iraq War, 2003 Moral and ethical aspects. 2. Iraq War, 2003 Political aspects. 3. War (Philosophy) 4. Just war doctrine. 5. Humanitarian intervention. 6. Political realism. 7. Democracy. 8. Preemptive attack (Military science) 9. Globalization Political aspects. I. Title. DS M67.R '431 dc A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Scribe Inc. First edition: June

5 For victims of war everywhere

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7 Contents Preface 1 Introduction: Rethinking Philosophical Arguments in the War on Iraq 1 2 The Question of Just War: The Rise of the Contemporary Just- War Tradition 13 3 The Question of Humanitarian Intervention: Humanitarian Grounds for Armed Conflict 41 4 The Question of Democracy: War and the Crusade for Democracy 59 5 The Question of Preventive War: The March toward Prevention 81 6 Philosophizing War: The Philosophic Response to the War on Iraq 97 7 Concluding Remarks: Toward an Alternative Turn in Philosophizing War 119 Notes 129 Bibliography 161 Index 177 ix

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9 Preface The book you are about to embark on is a product of a long- standing and intensive desire to understand the philosophical nature of contemporary war. The impetus for this project was events in the period between late 2002 and early 2003, as the United States and its allies were preparing to invade Iraq. I recall being deeply distraught and intellectually perplexed by an impending reality that initially seemed merely fictional. Like many Iraqis living in the United States and elsewhere, I felt paralyzed with worry about the imminent campaign of destruction about to be waged on the country and its hapless people, as well as the far- reaching abysmal consequences for the greater region. At the time, I was living in Philadelphia. I watched worldwide protestors condemn the looming military strikes on Iraq. I felt quite surprised to see daily American life go on as usual, virtually unaffected by the catastrophe about to occur, with much of the population unconcerned about its own citizens who were about to be sacrificed for an immoral war of choice. I attended local rallies and immersed myself in anything having to do with antiwar activism in an effort to make sense of a bewildering historic moment I was unable to account for, endeavors that seemed ineffectual at halting the calamities of war. As a philosopher, I naturally turned to the discipline of philosophy for deeper insight into the Iraq war, striving to find a way in which philosophical acuity might help to affect foreign policy perhaps a naively idealistic vision. The further I searched, the greater my disappointment and frustration grew with contemporary philosophical attempts at elucidating the theoretical intricacies and moral complexities of this war. The majority of thinkers overlooked crucial developments that characterized a new dawn of warfare we have embarked on. Especially troubling were hordes of academic thinkers who concocted moral schemas in defense of America s unjust war. A few voices of reason did manage to emerge from the rubble, shaping my own thoughts and ultimately helping to steer this book in fruitful directions. Those scant voices of reason instilled much- needed assurance in the promise of philosophy

10 x preface in analyzing contemporary war. In a sense, this book has been a very personal one; it grew out of a deep- seated anxiety about the Iraq war, and contemporary wars more generally, as well as the desire to construct a rigorous, comprehensive philosophical analysis of the Iraq war itself and wars in the twenty- first century. We live in a time when war is an ordinary state of affairs, indistinguishable from times when we are not at war. In the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where I live, the town is saturated with civil war imagery, iconography, and memorabilia reminding visitors and locals alike of the historic significance of the American Civil War, which forever changed the course of history. What I find especially interesting is that the nineteenth- century war was fought between two stateless entities, an idea that has gained prominence as a distinctive feature of new war actors across multiple global conflicts. As I write this preface on the tenth- year anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center, it is clear that the world has greatly changed; yet the world, academic and otherwise, has still to catch up with the string of events, including wars waged, that have unfolded since those planes flew into the towers, the Pentagon, and an open field in my own state. What is clear is that many people have an insatiable intellectual hunger about moral matters of war and peace. There are now more conferences, centers, and institutes wrestling with the theoretical and ethical challenges of international political violence particularly terrorism, war, and ubiquitous global resistance. It helps to recall that it was only a decade ago, in 2001, that the Journal of Military Ethics was launched, in part as an attempt to fill a gap in serious moral reflection about a variety of contemporary issues within global conflicts. This book would not have been possible without the support of many individuals who expressed deep interest in the work and offered much- needed guidance at various stages of the process. Early drafts of these chapters greatly benefited from suggestions made by Joseph Margolis, Philip Alperson, and Paul C. Taylor; I am indebted to them for their helpful comments, profound insights, and genuine enthusiasm for the work. As my research developed over the years and morphed into a book prospectus for consideration by an academic press, my colleagues in the Department of Philosophy at Gettysburg College have been especially helpful. I am grateful to Steven Gimbel and Daniel DeNicola for reviewing early drafts of the book proposal and offering constructive advice throughout. I am particularly indebted to my colleague Lisa Portmess, who encouraged me to pursue the publication

11 preface xi of this book and provided unrelenting support, personal guidance, and editorial suggestions at every stage of the process; she contributed countless hours of her own time, indefatigably reviewing drafts and offering helpful advice she is a true bodhisattva. I would like to extend a special heartfelt shukran ( thank you in Arabic) to Lisa for all her hard work. Finally, I thank my editorial director, Farideh Koohi- Kamali; her fantastic team of editorial assistants; and the editorial board at Palgrave Macmillan for their interest in the book and their active pursuit of the project. I am truly grateful for the helpful comments provided by Palgrave s anonymous and expedient review process. To others I may have neglected to acknowledge, I thank them for their efforts and appreciate their support. Bassam Romaya Gettysburg, Pennsylvania September 2011