After Gaza: The Road Ahead
IN THE aftermath of this year’s conflict in Gaza, many worry that the prospects of a two-state solution are dwindling. “Perhaps we need to think about a three-state solution,” Michael Walzer wrote in March, “with only two of those states-Israel and the PA’s West Bank-preparing themselves for peaceful co-existence.” Walzer spoke with Richard Wolin on February 24 at CUNY’s Graduate Center.
Listen to their conversationPhoto: Gaza, Janua... More
In the Aftermath of War: Ari Folman's Waltz with Bashir
AS AMBITIOUS as it is macabre, Ari Folman’s Waltz with Bashir introduces a new kind of film: an animated documentary. Based on Folman’s own experiences as a young soldier during Israel’s 1982 campaign in Lebanon—in particular, in the days leading up to the Sabra and Shatila massacres—the film focuses on the confusion, guilt, and trauma that stay with soldiers long after they come home from war.
The film, which was Israel’s submission to the foreign film category at this year’s Oscars, takes its name from a scene in which one of the young men in Folman’s unit, half mad with fe... More
Is the Two-State Solution Viable after Gaza?
NO ONE can say with any certainty that the two-state solution was viable before the war in Gaza. I can imagine arguments that the war made it more viable and also that it made it less viable. But, really, its viability doesn’t have a lot to do with the immediate strategic/political situation. There isn’t any other solution; this one is unique. People keep coming back to it because there’s no other way to go. It survives, therefore, I guess, it’s viable.
But it isn’t in great shape right now, even though everyone knows what each side would have to do to realize this solution. The Pal... More
Will Obama Go for the Game Changer--the Arab-Israeli Peace Plan?
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Although now we know the leading players of Barack Obama’s national security team, we still do not know his foreign policy priorities. By opting for a team whose character is, for the most part, right of center, the president-elect sends multiple messages at home and abroad. With establishment figures in charge of national security—Hillary Clinton, Robert Gates, James Jones—there will likely be no radical experimentation or paradigm shift in U.S. foreign policy.
America will reclaim the realist compass that guided its international relation... More
Talking to Enemies
The announcement that Israel and Syria are negotiating with one another through Turkish mediators was called “a slap in the face” by an American diplomat who spoke anonymously to the New York Times (May 22, 2008). The Bush administration is against talking to enemies, although it has made an important exception with regard to the North Koreans. I think, by contrast, that talking to enemies is always a good idea.
First, it helps us understand what the leaders of the enemy state are thinking and possibly also what they are doing; it is a source of information. A diplomat is a k... More
Hezbollah and the Future of Lebanon
The 18-month political gridlock in Lebanon has come to a happy end with the Hezbollah-led opposition and the pro-Western governing coalition reaching an agreement in Doha, Qatar. Both camps stepped back from the brink of all-out civil war and agreed to elect General Michel Suleiman, the commander of Lebanese Armed Forces, as president of Lebanon, and form a cabinet in which Hezbollah will be able to exercise veto power over pivotal domestic and foreign policy decisions.
Last Sunday Lebanon’s parlia... More
Exit or No Exit? Questions and Answers
TRUDY RUBIN: I think we have a very interesting collection of perspectives here. To sum up, I think the first two panelists — and correct me if I am wrong — are saying we must not make it worse; that is our moral responsibility. Sohail Hashmi is saying we can’t make it worse so we might as well get out now. Gerard Powers is saying “we broke it, we have to fix it,” this is the clear moral imperative; it is not imperialism, it’s a moral obligation. Let me try to question these perspectives.
For those who think we can’t let it get worse, that’s our moral respons... More
Exit or No Exit? Michael Walzer's Response
It was a dogma of my political education that the question “What ought to be done?” always had a right answer. Now I know that that is false. Sometimes there is no right answer, even when we know that we have to do something.
Here are a few propositions to keep in mind when thinking about what to do in Iraq, where we don’t know — at least I don’t — what ought to be done. The propositions hold, I think, whether you believe that the war was wrong from the start or only wrong, though terribly wrong, in its execution.
First of all, whatever our philosophical in... More
Exit or No Exit? Jean Bethke Elshtain's Response
In the invitation to this event we were sent a description of the situation in Iraq that included the following words: “To the insurgency has been added a civil war between Sunni and Shiite forces marked by extraordinary sectarian violence. Neighboring countries are taking sides, regional instability is growing, reconstruction is stalled, economic instability is endemic, refugee numbers grow, and, to top it all off, Al Qaeda has regrouped internationally.”
Is this characterization of events compelling? I put the question because this gestures toward my first point.... More
Exit or No Exit? Sohail Hashmi's Response
Ever since the drumbeat of war against Iraq began to be sounded in September 2002, I have been reminded of Barbara Tuchman’s book, The March of Folly. “For a government’s policy or a nation’s courts of action to be considered folly,” Tuchman writes, “it must meet three criteria. First, it must be perceived in its own time as counterproductive to that group’s own self-interest, not just in hindsight. Second, a feasible alternative course of action must have been available when the policy was adopted. And third, the policy must be that of a group, not just a single individua... More
Exit or No Exit? Gerard Power's Response
This is probably the toughest issue of ethics and international affairs that our country has faced in at least a generation. What I would like to try to do is make three points about the relative balance between what I see as the moral imperatives that our country faces and the consequentialist reasoning that, as Michael Walzer and Jean Elshtain and Sohail have said, has to be a key part of the moral a... More
Exit or No Exit? Trudy Rubin's Introduction
It is a pleasure to be here. Let me say that, despite all the places I have traveled, Iraq has been my obsession over the last four years, with many trips there. I can’t think of a more important topic to be discussing than the question of morality and withdrawal from Iraq.
I believe that there are many people who may feel that we are going nowhere in security terms in Iraq; they can see no light at the end of the tunnel. And yet, the moral issue affects how they think.
On the question of “What do we owe Iraqis? Does the justice (or injustice) of the interv... More
