Words on the War

“Why not ‘target’ Saddam Hussein? In abstract moral terms, there might be a persuasive case for ridding the world of him. But premeditated murder is different from the impersonal killing of military combat and would raise fundamental issues of religious and secular law. Beyond this, there is a more practical reason for resisting such an act. In the violent caldron of Iraq’s domestic politics, Hussein might well be replaced by an equally ugly killer, or perhaps by no single dominant figure, which could in turn lead to intervention and resulting regional dominance for Iran.”

--ARTHUR CYR, author of “U.S. Foreign Policy and European Security” and vice president of the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations