Faculty members discuss legitimacy of invasion, prospects for democracy.
By: Brooke R. Stoddard
Four Princeton University faculty members debated the legitimacy of the U.S. invasion of Iraq and voiced doubts about the prospects for democracy during a panel discussion Tuesday evening.
"It is important to know that the war was won," Professor and Politics Department Chair Jeffrey Herbst told 200 students and faculty in Dodds Auditorium of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.
Other panelists were less optimistic about the legitimacy of the war on Iraq.
"Is it a war? Was it declared? I’m not aware of any declaration of war," said Abdellah Hammoudi, director of the Transregional Institute for the Study of the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. "I would call it the ‘Invasion of Iraq’ or ‘Massacre of Iraq.’"
Speaking in support of Professor Hammoudi, religion professor Cornel West added that America’s politicians seemed overconfident and assumed an unjust amount of power in declaring war and promising to improve the lives of Iraqi citizens.
"They fundamentally believe we can intervene with regenerative powers," Dr. West said.
Most panelists said they were not confident the United States and its partners will successfully establish a democratic government in Iraq.
"If we are indeed serious about setting up a democracy in Iraq it will be difficult and take a long time," lecturer of Public and International Affairs Erica Cosgrove said.
"The prospects for a democratic regime in Iraq are poor," Dr. Herbst said.
The panelists congratulated the media for achieving higher standards of journalism than in any previous conflict.
"Embedded journalists in Iraq set a new level of government accountability," Dr. Herbst said. "The incident of a soldier throwing a grenade in a tent would not have been reported without embedded journalists."
After each individual spoke, the panelists answered questions from the audience on what they thought the United States’ true objectives were in the war.
"I was very disturbed by the justifications for war given by the Bush administration," Dr. Cosgrove said. "Searching for weapons of mass destruction seemed legitimate, but regime change was less of a good reason."
Dr. West listed possible objectives as serving as a presence in the Middle East and protecting the security of Israel, but overall stressed the pursuit of American power overseas.
"We want to let the world know that the U.S. is in the driver’s seat," he said. "We want the world to know that we are number one."
Panelists also responded to a question about the role of U.S. multinational companies in the Iraq reconstruction effort and the lack of competitive bidding for contracts.
"It’s disturbing the process isn’t more transparent so that more American companies are allowed to bid for contracts," Dr. Cosgrove said.
In disagreement, Professor Herbst argued there is insufficient time for extensive competition for contracts.
"There are emergencies out there," he said. "It takes a very long time for competitive bidding."

