Iraq and Afghanistan

Whatever results Sunday brings, many will be forced once again to do their moral calculus. Was it worth it? This has been the question throughout human history. Sometimes it clearly was not. World War I with its terrible slaughter of young men on both sides did not advance any human cause very far. World War II and the Civil War, on the other hand, are more complicated.

The immediate answers depend on who you are and where, on your fate and that of those closest to you. Some people in Iraq would take any chance, give up everything, even their own lives to get back at Saddam for what he did to them or their families. Others feel the same about the Americans. But neither of these feelings make a war “worth it” unless there is a real improvement in the lives of those who come afterwards. President Bush tells the Iraqi people that a broad and wonderful future is opening in front of them. Some believe it, especially it appears those Iraqis who live outside the country. But that American soldier’s family in Iowa, does it believe it? Do they care that much that the Iraqis have a chance to build a freer society? Were they willing to sacrifice their son? Is not the President pursuing the goals of a grand plan over the bodies of ordinary people who have not been adequately consulted? How does America conduct foreign policy in a world in which sometimes people will be killed on both sides without adequate consultation?