What Do We Owe Iraq?

Andy Bacevich asks the question and answers: nothing. Money quote:

The war’s opponents must align their moral concerns, which are complex, with their seemingly straightforward policy prescription. That alignment becomes possible if we recognize that America's obligation is not to Iraq but to Iraqis. As a nation-state, Iraq – awash with sectarian violence and lacking legitimate institutions – can hardly be said to exist. We owe Iraq nothing.

In contrast, we owe the Iraqis whose lives we have blighted quite a lot. We should repay that debt much as we (partially at least) repaid our debt to the people of South Vietnam after 1975: by offering them sanctuary.

(Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty.)