Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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Role of U.S. military intervention in Iraq challenged at lecture

The United States has developed damaging foreign policies thatare clearly illustrated in the recent military strike on Iraq, apolicy analyst and author on Middle Eastern issues told about 100people Thursday.

In an event in Fisk Hall sponsored by the Muslim-culturalStudents Association, Stephen Zunes, a political science professorat the University of San Francisco, questioned President Bush’smotives for invading Iraq, and criticized his blatant flaunting ofinternational law.

“It unnerves me that the definition of self-defense has evolvedto the point of invading a country that we feel might be makingweapons of mass destruction which might be used on us one day, “Zunes said. “We are setting a dangerous precedent.”

Zunes provided evidence of how the notion of liberating theIraqi people came almost as an afterthought to Bush’s otherwiseunsubstantiated claims of Iraq’s connections to al-Qaida and otherterrorists.

“A perfect example of the ambiguity of this war can be seen inthe tearing down of the statue of Saddam by American soldiers,”Zunes said. “That act embodied the over-involvement of the U.S.military in a situation that should have seen the Iraqi peopletriumphing over Saddam’s regime.”

Zunes said a more strict adherence by the United States. to U.N.regulations would help to alleviate international conflict.

“I’ve documented over 90 countries that are in violation of someU.N. regulation,” Zunes said. “We can’t simply enforce regulationson the countries we don’t like.”

Zunes, who has visited Iraq, said the Iraqi citizens certainlywant democracy and liberty. But he questioned such action beingmilitarily imposed from other nations.

“I’m not against American military across the board,” Zunessaid. “But the paradox that very few people seem to appreciate isthat the more and more the U.S. is militarized in the Middle East,the less and less secure we become.”

Increased U.S. presence in the Middle East will only provokefurther Islamic extremism and anti-Americanism, Zunes said, whichwill come back in the form of terrorism.

“Since no nation state can challenge the U.S. military, theyneed to turn to asymmetrical warfare: terrorism,” Zunes said.

Zunes said he had to look no farther back than the 1990s to finda U.S.-led military strike that led to a terrorist attack.

“If there had not had been a (Persian) Gulf War, there would nothave been a 9/11,” Zunes said.

Although he believes U.S. foreign policy is doing more harm thangood, Zunes said he is hopeful the government will have a shifttoward a more peaceful foreign policy in the future.

“Winning the peace is going to be far more difficult thanwinning the war,” Zunes said.

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Role of U.S. military intervention in Iraq challenged at lecture