OxBlog

Sunday, February 02, 2003

# Posted 8:58 PM by Ariel David Adesnik  

THE UNREALISTS: Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer are at it again. Back in November, these towering scholars of international relations argued that the United States has nothing to fear from a nuclear-armed Iraq. I dismantled their argument then and stand by my position now.

You'd think that Walt and Mearsheimer might have learned something from the ongoing stand-off with North Korea: that the US has a very limited ability to influence dictators who can threaten the lives of tens of thousands of civilians in neighboring states allied to the US. If we give Saddam enough time, he will develop a missile that can take out Istanbul or Tel Aviv.

Most disturbing of all for those who call themselves realists, Walt and Mearsheimer propose no alternate course for dealing with Iraq. They say we're safe as long as the inspectors are on the ground. But the inspectors will have to come home sometime. And then what?

UPDATE: Links fixed.
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