For the benefit of anybody who was pro-war, but is now genuinely perturbed by the apparent dearth of WMD in Iraq, here are some consideration to bear in mind:

- The primary moral justification for the war was that people as evil as Saddam ought not be allowed to acquire the capability to make WMD.

- The secondary moral justification, which would not by itself have justified war, but which is very important nonetheless, is that the defeat of Saddam may have opened the doors to a pan-Arab Enlightenment that could bring liberty, education, health, and affluence to hundreds of millions of benighted people.

- Neither of those justifications has been invalidated by events.

- As for the suspected existence of WMDs, that was the *legal* justification for the war -- in so far as the concept of international law, pertaining to war, has any meaning. That justifications has also not been invalidated by events, because under mandatory UN Security Council resolutions, Saddam was required to satisfy the UN that he had no WMDs. And even the compliant Dr Blix was not satisfied on that score.

Posted by Kolya @ 06/26/2003 05:52 PM EST