Professors hold peaceful debate
Pi Sigma Alpha, the political science honor society, hosted a forum about Iraq on Tuesday.
What was supposed to be a debate turned out to be more of a peace talk. Each member of the panel was anti-war.
William Furlong, Pi Sigma Alpha adviser, monitored the discussion. The panel comprised Nabil Youssef, a recently retired biology professor, James Waite, an adjunct professor, Larry Boothe, also an adjunct professor, and Jeannie Johnson, a political science professor.
Each member of the panel expressed his opinion on war for the roughly 400-person crowd in the Taggart Student Center Auditorium.
Johnson said the question at hand is: Is Saddam Hussein more dangerous pushed into a corner or left alone?
Medlir Mema, president of Pi Sigma Alpha, explained that President George W. Bush has not given convincing evidence as to why Hussein is considered an imminent threat. The president has been telling the nation he has sources but hasn’t divulged anything specific.
Boothe said if the United States compromises sources in Iraq, then it will lose them worldwide.
Mema mentioned that he, along with the panel members, hoped Tuesday’s State of the Union Address would shed light on the country’s stance.
The lack of information, Mema concluded, is what made the panel one-sided.
“We were hoping for more of a debate,” he says, pointing out that some attendees were disappointed.
Nevertheless, each panel member had something to add to the discussion.
“We are not a nation to be easily aroused,” Boothe said, adding that Sept. 11, 2001 definitely aroused the United States.
Johnson said some people want to use 9/11 as an excuse to attack Iraq. Boothe commented that America needs to finish the war with al-Qaida before starting a war with Iraq. Al-Qaida is a terrorist issue; Iraq is not a terrorist issue, he said.
Youssef said there is no hurry for war. Why not wait for a couple of months for the verifiers to determine if Hussein is clean from the empty chemical warhead issue, and if he is not, give him the ultimatum?
Both Boothe and Youssef said the United States is a strong nation that can handle war.
“We are the strongest nation. There is no doubt about it,” Youssef said.
“We can take down Iraq, but can we handle the rest of the world?” Boothe said.
Boothe also pointed out the United States shouldn’t be worried about whether Iraq has nuclear capabilities. It should be worried about the use of such weapons in other countries; both Israel and Pakistan have nuclear weapons.
Boothe posed the question: What happens if the United States goes to war? Iraq has never been a democratic government. Who will replace Saddam Hussein?
“The issue is not really war,” Boothe said. “The issue is politics.”
–eedavis@cc.usu.edu