As United Nations weapons inspectors returned to Iraq Monday, two professors discussed the prospect of military action in the context of the Iraqi culture.
Professor of Religion Bruce Lawrence and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill professor of English Rashmi Varma presented their opinions on the United States' role in Iraq, in the first of three panels this week sponsored by Iraq and US, a group of Duke faculty, students, and administration hoping to foster University discussion on the issue.
Lawrence focused specifically on the support the United States had provided Iraq during its war with Iran in the 1980s, and the consequences of that involvement on any future conflict and its aftermath.
"The legacy of Saddam [Hussein] is partially an American legacy," Lawrence said. "Any [American-installed] successor regime has to account for how this regime will be different than the regime of the 1980s."
Lawrence emphasized the importance of plans for rebuilding Iraq after any potential war, likening the situation to the American-led Marshall Plan for Europe's economic recovery following World War II.
"War can win [and] battles can have a purpose but only with a reconstruction afterwards," Lawrence said.
Varma discussed the exploitation of Iraqi women and children by the Western world. She stressed that the living conditions of these individuals are used by the United States to dehumanize Iraq and other Islamic countries in order to justify unilateral actions against those nations.
"The United States fights in the name of human rights, but not those of the Iraqis, because they are viewed as inhuman," Varma said.
She also criticized economic sanctions, classifying them as a continuation of the first Persian Gulf War.
"The U.S. is already at war with Iraq," Varma said. "We've been at war with Iraq for more than a decade. The question is not whether war should take place, but what form that war should take."
At the end of the discussion, Lawrence and Varma were each asked their opinions on the United States' next step.
"We should open diplomatic ties with Iraq and Iran," Lawrence said. "Talking, even with enemies, is better than spying."
Varma said that the U.S. government needs a consistent policy.
"We need the same policy for Iraq, for Israel and for Pakistan," she said. "It needs to be more consistent with the principles of international law and justice."
Audience reaction to the panel discussion was mixed. Junior Michael D'Angiolillo said he felt that the discussion was skewed to the left and not open to divergent opinions.
First-year law student Zachary Klughaupt, on the other hand, said the panel had appropriately addressed the different sides of the U.S.-Iraqi issue and hoped similar forums would be available to students in the future.
"I was pleased because I felt the panel addressed different views and questions on Iraq," Klughaupt said. "Discussions like this are an important part of being at a university and I hope more students can come to these events."
The group Iraq and US, which claims to be neither pro-war nor anti-war, was started when James Joseph, professor of the practice in public policy studies and former U.S. ambassador to South Africa, was contacted by individuals interested in starting a dialogue on Iraq that was both open to and representative of diverse perspectives.
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