Does the invasion of Iraq have a just cause?
Reasons to say “Yes”: If we expand the scope of analysis to cover the last two decades of history, a case can be made that Saddam Hussein is dangerous, and, therefore, Iraq is dangerous. His crimes against the Kurds and his aggressions upon Kuwait are sufficient reasons to believe that he is a threat to his neighbours. Also, on an economic front, Iraq represents a variance from homogeny in the region, and is widely considered the key power player on the other side of the oil equation. If such a country were able to destabilize the region, the United States’ interests in the region, as well as the interests of Israel, are very much imperilled. Reasons to say “No”: Most of the crimes committed by Iraq are not exactly contemporary in nature. Hussein is not in the process of committing chemical or biological warfare upon anyone, nor is he in the process of invading another nation. Our understandings of the suffering of Iraq’s people are nebulous — the West cannot entirely be sure that Hus
