04 October 2001
Dershowitz
Generally, we refer to Alan Dershowitz not-so-affectionately as "Alan Dipshitwitz" here, for his consistently inane views and utterances over at least the last decade (or longer).
In this op-ed, I'm inclined to think he has raised a reasonable question: to what extent should a nation be prepared to go to war based simply upon the assurances of its leaders that there is good reason. It strikes me that democratic regimes should ask that question.
I'm fairly certain, however, that even though Dershowitz writes that the evidentiary standard should be lower than it would be for a criminal court proceeding, that he probably would set it far higher than most of us who study international politics seriously -- probably so high, in fact, as to merit the "Dipshitwitz" nickname we often use for him.
Dershowitz admits the following in his penultimate paragraph: "Generally we know with certainty which nation has provoked us." If that is true, then my own evidentiary requirements have been satisfied!
Leaving aside Dershowitz's odd combination of knowing "generally" and "with certainty," I'm not entirely convinced that the general public does know with certainty that Osama bin Laden is the sole organizer of the 11 September attacks, or that Iraq and other terrorist sponsors were not involved -- and I don't know that "certainty" is the right standard in any case! We do know that Osama bin Laden's group is one of the few with the organization, finances, and motivation to carry out such an attack, but we also know entire nations (notably Iraq, but also Iran, Syria, and the proto-nation of Gaza to name a few) that sponsor terrorism. That's why many of us have long advocated Bruce Herschensohn's approach of war on terror generally -- because terrorism ought not be thought of in any way as a criminal act, but as an act of war by a "nation" broadly conceived.
I think Dershowitz would recoil in horror from such an approach, and ultimately I think that is because Dershowitz, despite his protests otherwise, really still is thinking of this matter like a criminal lawyer, and not as an analyst of international politics or foreign policy.
[Posted @ 09:09 AM CST]
