Tempers flared as students, politicians and professors packed
Kinsey Hall Wednesday to debate U.S. policy toward Iraq.
Former Los Angeles mayor Richard Riordan, nationally syndicated
columnist Arianna Huffington and former presidential advisor Dennis
Ross all spoke at the forum, which was sponsored by the UCLA
International Institute and the Burkle Center for International
Relations.
The moderated debate first focused on whether the United States
should use force against Iraq and if such a war is justified.
The event started calmly as Ross, who was the director of the
state department’s Policy Planning during the Bush Sr.
administration, discussed how Saddam Hussein was a threat who
needed to be stopped.
But the crowd grew louder as the debate progressed, with a man
from the crowd shouting that Ross “should sign up for the
Navy or the Air Force” if he supported war. The man then left
in a flurry of expletives.
Critics of war were also heckled during the debate as they
argued that the Congressional resolution authorizing the president
to use force is unconstitutional.
Riordan said the constitutional process should not stop the
United States from defending itself.
“We’re not a democracy, we’re a
republic,” Riordan said, “and the leaders of republics
sometimes have to make unpopular decisions.”
Riordan’s dismissal of the constitutional process drew
sharp criticism from UCLA history professor Joyce Appleby.
“The only difference between tyranny and democracy is
process,” Appleby said.
President Bush signed the resolution authorizing him to use
force Wednesday, providing the backdrop for the debate.
Bush has said there is a link between terrorist groups such as
al-Qaeda and Hussein, but Huffington questioned whether this is
just a ruse used to gain support for war.
“He is using post 9-11 emotions and fears to justify a
pre-9-11 objective,” Huffington said.
The large turnout of students at the debate ““ a majority
of who verbally supported Huffington ““ is a reflection of a
growing anti-war movement across the nation, she said.
This sort of student input is critical to the movement, she
added.
“Any real fundamental change will come from college
campuses,” Huffington said.
This movement is unusual, she said, because it started before
actual war.
The cost of a war is unclear, both in terms of dollars and
lives. Huffington said the Bush administration has not given any
estimates about possible American casualties of war, emphasizing
how little information the American people are being given about
U.S. intentions.
A war which may include capturing Hussein would have greater
casualties than the war in Iraq 11 years ago when U.S. troops
stopped at the border, she said.
Some students raised the concern that they would be sent into a
war if it was drawn out and a draft was needed.
Ross, however, said attacking Iraq now would be the best time to
minimize casualties because he expects Iraq will develop nuclear
weapons.
In this case, Ross predicts Hussein will invade neighboring
countries and use his nuclear arsenal to prevent other nations from
intervening.
Bush has said he is willing to wage a war with Iraq without
support abroad, which is part of a general trend of this
administration to act on its own, said Amy Zegart, professor of
public policy.
Nevertheless, Zegart said the current U.S. policy does not
insure war and may only be a threat to get Hussein to comply with
Bush’s demands.
With reports from Adam Foxman, Daily Bruin Contributor.