Rapped with Michael Walzer.. Princeton Prof., Public Intellectual, Editor of Dissent Magazine.. yesterday in the hallowed halls of Maxwell. And I must admit, the guy is a lot less 'dissent' oriented than I had expected and hoped. Here's the rub: his explication of terrorism and the appropriate response a civil society ought to give to it sounded sensible enough and is to be lauded, but its political-philosophy is underpinned by this notion of 'just war theory' which, when held up to rigorous philosophical critique, just doesn't hold water. There are more practical problems with just war theory as well from the vantage point of being an American citizen: is it a realistic assumption that young Al Qaeda recruits should not be swayed by arguments that the US Military targets civilians and civilian infrastructure in our warring endeavors? From bombing a pharmaceutical plant in Sudan, the Chinese embassy in Serbia, the occasional wedding party in Afghanistan, and the killing of an Italian agent in Iraq, clarity of US intent and moral high ground might become a little murky. Not to mention that just war theory is predicated on interactions between liberal nation-states: Al Qaeda seems to escape this categorization. And while local “police work” might be the magic bullet for dealing with this terror group, are Saudi Arabia and Turkmenistan really the willing partners we need in this activity? Apart from the ‘hot wars’, is the Bush’s administrations rather candid and above board policies of adhering to Kennan’s notion that, above all, we must remain a global economic hegemon and resource hog really helping our good guy, humanitarian principals image, or not?
Contain Terrorism Globally, Ask the Tough Questions Locally
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