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War aims.

IraqMatthew Yglesias (*) asks what the war aims of the allies are. (†)

It’s not a secret. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld outlined the main war aims two weeks ago. (‡) To summarize them:

  • Defeat Iraqi forces
  • Secure WMD
  • Root out terrorists
  • Collect intelligence for further counterterrorist operations
  • End sanctions, deliver humanitarian relief, and secure oil fields
  • Create a representative government
  • Preserve Iraq’s territorial integrity

I would like to see added to the list: the resolution of Iraq’s border disputes (such as, for example, with Kuwait); the creation of an Iraqi constitutional democracy protective of minority rights; setting in motion a judicial remedy for the those Iraqis deprived of their human rights (perhaps war crimes trials in the short-run and a truth and reconciliation commission in the long-run); and a program of rapid reconstruction that involves neither the World Bank nor the IMF.

Update: 3 December 2003. Yglesias’s archives from the applicable period were lost. (§) (**)

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 2nd, 2003 at 14:32 and is filed under Iraq. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

2 Responses to “War aims.”

  1. Beerzie Boy Says:
    April 2nd, 2003 at 15:06

    You forgot one: Put 80 billion dollars into the bank accounts of (N) number of as yet unnamed corporations who have heavily contributed to the Republican and Democratic parties. Viva Profits!

  2. Andrew Hagen Says:
    April 2nd, 2003 at 15:21

    Without evidence or an argument, your point falls flat.