Foreign policy experts evaluate nation's response to terrorism

During the fourth consecutive day of U.S. bombings in Afghanistan, the University Center for Human Values hosted a forum yesterday titled "Just War Principles and the U.S. Military Response." The forum, moderated by philosophy professor Peter Singer and part of the center's Program in Ethics and Public Affairs, was so popular that it had to be moved from McCormick 101 to the larger McCosh 10.

The four panelists concluded that the current U.S. military actions in Afghanistan were justified, but each of them had additional insights and warnings for U.S. policy makers as they continue to respond to the recent terrorist attacks.

Wilson School professor Richard Falk addressed the audience first. He argued that the current conditions facing the United States "provide grounds for recourse to war."

Falk said the attacks of Sept. 11 are "unprecedented in the history of international conflict." He continued that the threat of retaliation is especially severe because of the terrorists' technical ingenuity and their ability to rely upon "suicidal foot-soldiers."

Falk defined this new terrorism as genocidal and "directed by a political animus that seeks to kill indiscriminately Jews and Americans wherever they are." He warned that "if the threat posed isn't addressed, it will be repeated in some form."

Falk cautioned that a U.S. overreaction "could ignite an intercivilizational war between the West and Islam." For this reason, Falk said the United States must not use the current situation as "a pretext for pursuing a much larger agenda" and must minimize civilian deaths.

James Johnson, a professor of religion at Rutgers University, focused on the spiritual motivations of the terrorist attacks. Johnson noted that the terrorists' belief that religion can sometimes require war is "deeply mystifying" to most Westerners.

Johnson said Americans should not confuse the beliefs of the terrorists with the beliefs of mainstream Muslims.

"There is a religious element . . . but at the same time we have to recognize that it is a religious element that has been condemned by mainstream Islam," he said.

He also said many forms of fundamentalism are not violent, though he noted that some in the news media argue differently. "To focus on fundamentalism so as to demonize it is wrong," Johnson said.

Gideon Rose, the managing editor of Foreign Affairs magazine, agreed with Falk that the current U.S. actions against targets in Afghanistan are justified.

"In my view these operations can be entirely justified according to the tenets of just war theory," Rose said.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

Rose discussed post-conflict U.S. policy toward Afghanistan. "We have a moral obligation to help with nation-building and to help see to it that Afghanistan and its people get . . . a better shot at life," he said. Rose also argued that the U.S. response should not reach other countries, saying that it would be "significantly dubious" to extend the current military operations to other areas not directly connected to the attacks of Sept. 11.

Michael Walzer of the Institute for Advanced Study condemned those who have argued that the recent terrorist attacks were the inevitable result of large disparities in material wealth. "Vast inequality just doesn't work as an explanation for contemporary terrorism," he said.

Walzer, a well-known theorist of just war principles, said that in its military response, the United States should "leave a wide margin of error" and "reduce the risks [to the civilian population] as much as possible." He also said "the acceptance of risk" by the United States military is very important.

Walzer highlighted the importance of ideological criticism. "We need an ongoing critique of all doctrines that rationalize, justify or excuse terrorism," he said. "Muslim intellectuals need to respond to every sermon . . . defending Islamic jihad."

Singer remarked that he was dissatisfied with American efforts toward a diplomatic solution, noting that American representatives have shown evidence of bin Laden's involvement to other countries and to the United Nations.

"At the very least," Singer said, "the U.S. should have presented that evidence to the Taliban" before commencing military actions.