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Martin S. Indyk and Kenneth M. Pollack, "Lesson from a Future War with Iraq" Iraq Memo #4, Brookings Institution, November 4, 2002
Michael E. O'Hanlon "The Weapons Inspectors Can Succeed" Financial Times, November 15, 2002
There is good reason to be optimistic that inspections can eliminate much of Saddam's chemical and biological capabilities and, most important, prevent him from obtaining the bomb.
Michael E. O'Hanlon, "How the Hard-Liners Lost" The Washington Post, November 10, 2002
Powell appears to have been the only chief member of the administration pushing for a strategy that could possibly avert war and avoid America's international isolation.
Giving inspections one last try was exactly the outcome Vice President Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld feared most.
"Democratic Mirage in the Middle East" Policy Brief 20 Carnegie Endowment [PDF of Report]
The increasingly popular idea in Washington that the United States, by toppling Saddam Hussein, can rapidly democratize Iraq and unleash a democratic tsunami in the Middle East is a dangerous fantasy. The U.S. record of building democracy after invading other countries is mixed at best and the Bush administration's commitment to a massive reconstruction effort in Iraq is doubtful. The repercussions of an intervention in Iraq will be as likely to complicate the spread of democracy in the Middle East as promote it. The United States has an important role to play in fostering democracy in the region, but the task will be slow and difficult given the unpromising terrain and lack of U.S. leverage over key governments
Frida Berrigan, Stumbling Blindly Into War World Policy Institute November 15, 2002
Saddam Hussein's nuclear weapons program appears to be little more than an idea.
Ian Willams "Good Cop, Bad Cop at the UN" Foreign Policy In Focus November 12, 2002
Resolution 1441 is more an alternative "legal" road to war rather than an alternative to war itself. Extrapolating from Saddam Hussein's previous behavior, the Security Council resolution will lead to war as surely as a position of unilateral U.S. belligerence. The Iraqi ruler will need an unprecedented political and psychological makeover to eat the copious and indigestible helpings of humble pie that the UN resolution prescribes being shoveled down his maw.
Frank von Hippel, "The Nuclear Threat from Iraq" September 13, 2002
(Edited presentation given at a briefing organized by Dennis J. Kucinich (D-OH), Rayburn House Office Building 2203, September 13, 2002.)
David Corn, "Behind the Placards:The odd and troubling origins of today’s anti-war movement," L.A. Weekly, November 1 - 7, 2002
Faleh A. Jabar , "Too soon to stop thinking: the view from Iraq" Open Democracy
Saddam Hussein has used the complex social and political landscape of Iraq to create a system of rule highly resistant to peaceful
change. An intelligent strategy for a better Iraq requires not a military crusade, but long-term thinking and creative solutions – from the offer of exile to Saddam and his clan to reviving the real economy through a mini-Marshall Plan.
Yasser Alaskary, "The Iraqi dictatorship: a unique case needs an exceptional solution" Open Democracy
A young Iraqi dissident argues that the incomparable nature of his people’s burden makes the forced removal of Saddam Hussein the only ethical solution. ‘Regime change’ from outside, wrong in principle, is in this case justified and necessary.
The Internally Displaced People of Iraq The Brookings Institution-SAIS Project on Internal Displacement, October 2002 [PDF for complete report]
In Iraq, the expulsion of people from their homes has long been state policy. Expulsions have been undertaken to punish and subdue recalcitrant populations. To this end, genocidal acts have taken place against the Kurds in the 1980s and against the Marsh Arabs in the 1990s. On other occasions, expulsions have been part of a strategy to secure valuable economic resources, as with the on-going 'Arabization' campaign against the Turkmen, Kurds, and Assyrians. Expulsions have also been used to undermine the growth of political opposition as with the Shi'a* in the south, or to forestall a fifth column as with the taba'iyya, those thought to be sympathetic to Iran, at the beginning of the war in 1980. In Iraq, over the last thirty years, there has never been a time when one group or another was not being expelled from their homes.
"Chickenhawk Politics" The Nation Nov. 4, 2002 Liza Featherstone, "Peace Gets a Chance" The Nation Oct. 18, 2002 Michelle Goldberg, "Peace kooks" Salon October 16, 2002
The new antiwar movement is in danger of being hijacked by bizarre extremist groups -- and most protesters don't even know it.
Todd Gitlin, "Who Will Lead" Mother Jones October 14, 2002
An antiwar movement is finally, thankfully stirring. But the ideology-bound leaders of that movement are steering it away from the millions of Americans whose concerns and ambivalence might fuel it.
Letter from AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney To Members of the United States Senate and House Regarding the Debate on Iraq October 7, 2002
The stakes in this national debate reach well beyond the immediate issue of Iraq's dictatorship. We must deal with Hussein's lawlessness in a manner that reinforces international law. We must treat his defiance of the United Nations in a manner that respects that crucial institution and all it stands for. We must counter the global terrorist threat that he poses in a manner that advances our efforts to eliminate those who launched last year’s attacks, and that cements our alliances with those throughout the world community who are threatened.
David Corn, "Bush Exploits Bali" The Nation Nov. 4, 2002 Paul Rogers, "After Bali, the need to understand" Open Democracy Oct. 16, 2002
The massacre in Bali was the most terrible in a series of recent incidents that reveal al- Qaida’s continuing activity. From Yemen to Kuwait and Pakistan, is the entanglement of the US in the Islamic world actually serving the group’s long-term strategy? If so, the vital need at this critical moment in the ‘war on terror’ is not more rhetoric, but deeper understanding.
Paul Kurtz, "Is the US About to Launch a War of Aggression?" Free Inquiry
Mark Fiore, "The Whoops-O-Matic" (cartoon) Salon
Institute for Public Accuracy "Bush's War Case: Fiction vs. Facts"
Dana Milbank, "President Enhances His Facts: Key Assertions Often Stretch the Truth," Washington Post, October 22, 2002 Michael Levi, "Nuclear Dangers Beyond Iraq" New York Times, September 23, 2002
Doug Ireland, "Carte Blanche: Congress capitulates to Bush's call for war" In These Times, October 11, 2002 Jay Bookman, "The president's real goal in Iraq" Atlantic Constitution September 29, 2002 David E. Sanger and Eric Schmitt, "US Has a Plan to Occupy Iraq, Officials Report" New York Times, October 11, 2002 Eric Schmitt and Thom Shanker, "U.S. Refines Plan for War in Cities," New York Times, October 22, 2002 Pentagon Report on Urban Warfare (PDF document)
James Fallows, " The Fifty-first State?" The Atlantic Monthly, November 2002
Going to war with Iraq would mean shouldering all the responsibilities of an occupying power the moment victory was achieved. These would include running the economy, keeping domestic peace, and protecting Iraq's borders—and doing it all for years, or perhaps decades. Are we ready for this long-term relationship?
Joseph Curl, "Agency disavows report on Iraq arms" Washington Times Sept. 27, 2002
The International Atomic Energy Agency says that a report cited by President Bush as evidence that Iraq in 1998 was "six months away" from developing a nuclear weapon does not exist.
Todd Gitlin "US National Security Strategy: a gift to anti–Americans everywhere" Open Democracy October 2, 2002
Bush’s new security manifesto is not just hypocritical and dangerous. It discredits the true case for national self– defense
Ed Vulliamy, Paul Webster, and Nick Paton Walsh "Scramble to carve up Iraqi oil reserves lies behind US diplomacy" The Observer (London) October 6, 2002
Manoeuvres shaped by horsetrading between America, Russia and France over control of untapped oilfields
Michael O'Hanlon, "Counting Casualties:How many people would die in an Iraqi War?" SLATE, September 25, 2002
Paul Starr, Robert Kuttner and Harold Meyerson, "A Reckless Rush to War" The American Prospect Sept 25, 2002
Ian Williams, "Holy War: What's Really Driving Bush's Crusade Against Saddam Hussein?" In These Times Sept. 27, 2002
'Realist' Foreign-Policy Scholars Denounce Push to Attack Iraq
Michael Kinsley, "Ours Not To Reason Why" SLATE, September 26, 2002
Robert Parry, "Bush's Nuclear Gamble" Consortium News September 30, 2002
Walter Pincus, "US Effort Aimed at Iraqi Officers: Stopping Biological Weapons is the Goal" Washington Post Sept. 29, 2002 International Crisis Group, "Iraq Backgrounder: What Lies Beneath"
This background report reviews the mechanics of Saddam Hussein’s rule, looks at the political dynamics that govern relations between religious and ethnic entities, and describes the various opposition groups and their potential role. It does not seek to predict the course of events in Iraq or to argue for any particular course of action. This is the first in a series of reports and briefing papers that ICG intends to issue on the challenges posed by Iraq, including the state of the country more than a decade after the Gulf War; regional attitudes toward a possible U.S. military offensive; the status of Iraqi Kurdistan; and Iran’s posture toward a U.S.-led war and Iraq after Saddam Hussein
William Raspberry, "Unasked Questions " Washington Post Sept. 29, 2002 By Karl Vick, "Skepticism Greets Seizure of Suspected Uranium," Washington Post, Sept 30, 2002 Robert Novak, "Following Iraq's Bioweapons Trail" Chicago Sun-Times Sept. 26, 2002 David Corn. "Tony Blair Makes A Case...For Inspections, Not War" The Nation David Pratt, "Unveiled: the thugs Bush wants in place of Saddam" Sunday Herald Sept 25, 2002 Ruy Teixeira, "What Will Decide Election 2000" Iraq or Domestic Issues, ' Public Opinion Watch: Sept. 23 - Sept. 27
Michael Walzer, "Inspectors yes, War No: No Strikes," The New Republic September 30, 2002 Paul Rogers, "Kaleidoscope, not telescope: Iraq, the Middle East, and the US" Open Democracy October 2,2002
The Vienna agreement allowing the return of UN weapons inspectors to Iraq, and the prospect of renewed escalation between Israel and Lebanon involving Hizbullah, complicate the US drive to war. But will the renewed dialogue among various Middle East states prove the most significant restraint on US plans?
Michael T. Klare, "War Plans and Pitfalls," The Nation October 3, 2002 Elizabeth L. Cline and Mosi Secret, "The Generals Speak," The Nation October 3, 2002 William D. Hartung, Frida Berrigan, and Michelle Ciarrocca, "Operation Endless Deployment" The Nation, October 3, 2002 Marc Cooper, "A Year Later: Only fear and loathing remain" L A Weekly Sept. 13-19, 2002 Anthony York, "A big, big mistake" Salon October 4, 2002 Back from his controversial trip to Iraq, Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Calif., talks about his concern over a unilateral strike against Saddam. Americans for Democratic Action, "No Blank Check for Reckless Bush War" Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, "Iraq: A New Approach"
Panelists detail the options offered in the new Carnegie report, "Iraq: A New Approach," which proposes "coercive inspections" in which a multinational military force created by the UN Security Council would enable international inspections teams to operate effectively in Iraq. Audio and video clips, plus transcript.
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, "The Humanitarian Situation in Iraq: Sanctions and the Work of the International Committee of the Red Cross," November 6, 2000
Sen. Mark Dayton, " Go Slow on Iraq" Washington Post Sept. 27, 2002
Congressional leaders who are hurrying votes on Iraq had very different views when the president was a Democrat named Bill Clinton. They made more sense back then.
"Open Letter from Academics Against An Iraq War" "George Kennan Speaks Out Against Iraq War" The Hill October 6, 2002
The chief architect of the containment and deterrence policies that shaped America foreign policy during the Cold War analyzes Bush's plans invade Iraq, and declares them a recipe for disaster.
Rhodri Evans "A working class answer to US imperialism and Saddam Hussein" Workers Liberty
When we campaign against the threat of US war on Iraq.... we should not do so in any way that implies credence to or support for Saddam Hussein’s "anti-imperialist" claims. Cheap agitation such as that which declares Bush and Sharon to be "the real axis of evil" and the "real terrorists" should be rejected. Whatever about Bush’s hypocrisy, Saddam’s regime is "really" as evil and as terrorist as any on earth. We oppose the US war plans, not in the name of support for the Iraqi regime, but in the name of international democracy and working-class solidarity.
Michael Rubin, "Sanctions on Iraq: A Valid Anti-American Grievance?" Middle East Review of International Affairs, Volume 5, No. 4 - December 2001
Richard Falk, "The Case Against the War: Bush is the real menace to world order" L.A. Weekly Sept.20 - 26, 2002 Ian Williams , "The Case Against the Anti-War Movement And against Bush's version of the war" La Weekly Sept 20-26, 2002
One of the problems with being anti-war in this country is that you find yourself in such very mixed -- and often mixed-up -- company. It might not make you pro-war, but it can certainly incline you toward being anti-anti- war.
Paul Rogers, "War by February" Open Democracy Eli J. Lake, "The Pentagon Vs. The CIA on Iraq," The New Republic Sept. 23, 2002 Michael Crowley , "Hidden Profit" The New Republic Sept. 23, 2002
Are domestic political motives behind the war drive?
John Judis, "War Resisters: The numbers are in and the "nays" are growing." The American Prospect October 7, 2002 Alex Gourevith, "A Cautious Opposition: Will Democrats block the road or pave the way to Baghdad?" The American Prospect, October 7, 2002
The broad Democratic support in principle for regime change is starting to sound more like a rhetorical cover than a call to arms. Democrats do not want their criticisms of Bush to sound anti-patriotic or pro-Hussein, but they want to move attention toward other options and subject the administration's various plans to closer scrutiny....while opposition has not crystallized, the outlines of a full critique of preemptive invasion are slowly coming into focus.
Rosemary Hollis, "Hawks won't stop with Baghdad," The Observer Sept. 22, 2002
The US hawks won't want Iraq's concessions on weapons inspections to prevent war. Their ambitions to transform the Middle East don't stop with Baghdad - yet they leave many crucial questions unanswered.
Thomas Ricks, "War Plans Target Hussein Power Base ," Washington Post Sept 22, 2002
Scenarios Feature A Smaller Force, Narrower Strikes
Jo Dillon, Kim Sengupta, and Andrew Buncombe, "Short warns Blair: Don't kill Iraqi innocents," Independent Sept. 22, 2002
David Usborne, "UN to upset Bush's war plans with one-year deadline for Iraq" Independent, September 22, 2002 David Corn, "Bush Stonewalls on Pre-9/ll Knowledge" The Nation Sept. 20, 2002
..the administration will declassify intelligence information, but it will keep classified the fact that this material was (or was not) shared with the President or anyone else at the White House. The administration's position is that it can tell the public about intelligence reports the government gathered regarding potential acts of terrorism before September 11 without harming national security, but if it must reveal whether these reports were brought to the attention of George W. Bush or his aides, that would endanger the United States.
"A briefing prepared for senior government officials at the beginning of July 2001 contained the following language: 'Based on a review of all-source reporting over the last five months, we believe that UBL [Usama bin Laden] will launch a significant terrorist attack against US and/or Israeli interests in the coming weeks. The attack will be spectacular and designed to inflict mass casualties against US facilities or interests. Attack preparations have been made. Attack will occur with little or no warning.'"
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