Forum advocates stronger resistance to war with Iraq

Hours before President Bush's nationally televised address on the Iraqi conflict, the history department held an open forum for faculty, undergraduates and graduate students, in which many professors said Democrats should more strongly oppose war with Iraq.

The overarching concerns among participants were the consequences of a war, the ethics of U.S. intervention and the haste of the Bush administration in making decisions.

"This meeting came out of a depressing conversation in the faculty lounge," Professor Jeremy Adelman said. "We wanted to hear others' thoughts on the conflict with Iraq and American foreign policy in general."

Several Democrats, including Sen. Edward Kennedy, Sen. Diane Feinstein and former Vice President Al Gore, have made speeches urging the government to pursue other options before taking military action.

However, Professor Nell Painter said these speeches provide only "election day politics, not answers to fundamental questions."

Professor Robert Tignor, the department's chair, cautioned against rash military action.

"It's time to slow down and think before the U.S. acts. America is seen throughout the Middle-East region as a bullying superpower," he said. "We're embarking on nothing more than a system of colonial authority."

Throughout the two-hour forum, questions were answered with a context of history.

The panel of professors referred to historical events to shed light on the conflict with Iraq.

"I'm reminded of June 1950 and what happened in American society when the Korean War broke out," Painter said. "This situation has terrible potential for polarizing society — perhaps not for hunting 'Reds,' but certainly the equivalent."

There was also a general concern for the lack of historical perspective since Sept. 11.

"Historical knowledge has been degraded . . . to bring up something old, prior to Sept. 11, is regarded as irrelevant," Professor Daniel Rodgers said.

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Professor Gyan Prakash said the United States euphemizes what is really imperialism, using phrases such as "regime change" and "liberation" to suggest a responsibility to overthrow the existing government in Iraq.

Professor Sue Naquin stressed that the consequences of war may include undermining the United Nations, further straining relations with U.S. allies and, most seriously, spreading anti-American sentiment.

There were few undergraduates in attendance, but they said the forum offered a unique perspective on the situation.

"I think that one of the things we have to be careful about is being unilaterally against war without substantial justification," Devon Peterson '03 said. "The American people are so focused on labeling Saddam Hussein evil, yet America has become aggressive."