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16. The Iraq War And The French Left

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A Matter of Principle
This chapter is in the book A Matter of Principle
24316The Iraq War and the French LeftMICHEL TAUBMANN Throughout the crisis in Iraq, French socialists melted into thenational consensus against the war. This reaction occurred practi-cally without debate—a strange attitude for a party with a habit-ual taste for internal controversies. Is there a duty to intervene against adictator? What about the future of the United Nations, NATO, and theEuropean Union? And what about the future of relations betweenEurope and the United States? Is there any credibility to a “peacecamp” that includes Vladimir Putin’s Russia? Should one adopt an atti-tude of critical support or confrontation toward the United States?Should France abstain or use its power of veto in the Security Council?Questions were in fact not lacking. There was plenty to think about inregard to this difficult dilemma between the demands of intentional jus-tice and the liberation of the Iraqi people. Yet, the socialists, as with a large majority of the French politicalestablishment, reduced an extremely complex situation to a simplechoice, more moral than political, between war and peace. PlacingGeorge W. Bush on the same footing as Saddam Hussein, they renewedthe ancient rhetoric of pacifism. The protests of February and March2003in which the socialists found themselves shoulder to shoulderwith the communists, the Greens, and “alternative globalists” bathed
© 2019 University of California Press, Berkeley

24316The Iraq War and the French LeftMICHEL TAUBMANN Throughout the crisis in Iraq, French socialists melted into thenational consensus against the war. This reaction occurred practi-cally without debate—a strange attitude for a party with a habit-ual taste for internal controversies. Is there a duty to intervene against adictator? What about the future of the United Nations, NATO, and theEuropean Union? And what about the future of relations betweenEurope and the United States? Is there any credibility to a “peacecamp” that includes Vladimir Putin’s Russia? Should one adopt an atti-tude of critical support or confrontation toward the United States?Should France abstain or use its power of veto in the Security Council?Questions were in fact not lacking. There was plenty to think about inregard to this difficult dilemma between the demands of intentional jus-tice and the liberation of the Iraqi people. Yet, the socialists, as with a large majority of the French politicalestablishment, reduced an extremely complex situation to a simplechoice, more moral than political, between war and peace. PlacingGeorge W. Bush on the same footing as Saddam Hussein, they renewedthe ancient rhetoric of pacifism. The protests of February and March2003in which the socialists found themselves shoulder to shoulderwith the communists, the Greens, and “alternative globalists” bathed
© 2019 University of California Press, Berkeley

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents vii
  3. Acknowledgments xi
  4. Introduction: The Liberal-Humanitarian Case For War In Iraq 1
  5. Part One. Reconsidering Regime Change
  6. 1. The Case For Regime Change 29
  7. 2. Liberal Legacies, Europe’S Totalitarian Era, And The Iraq War: Historical Conjunctures And Comparisons 39
  8. 3. “Regime Change”: The Case Of Iraq 57
  9. 4. In The Murk Of It: Iraq Reconsidered 76
  10. Part Two. Philosophical Arguments
  11. 5. National Interest And International Law 95
  12. 6. Just War Against An “Outlaw” Region 106
  13. 7. Moral Arguments: Sovereignty, Feasibility, Agency, And Consequences 125
  14. Part Three. Critiques Of The Left
  15. 8. A Friendly Drink In A Time Of War 147
  16. 9. Wielding The Moral Club 152
  17. 10. Peace, Human Rights, And The Moral Choices Of The Churches 160
  18. 11. Ethical Correctness And The Decline Of The Left 179
  19. 12. Pages From A Daily Journal Of Argument 191
  20. 13. Liberal Realism Or Liberal Idealism: The Iraq War And The Limits Of Tolerance 207
  21. Part Four. European Dimensions
  22. 14. Iraq And The European Left 223
  23. 15. Guilt’S End: How Germany Redefined The Lessons Of Its Past During The Iraq War 233
  24. 16. The Iraq War And The French Left 243
  25. 17. Tempting Illusions, Scary Realities, Or The Emperor’S New Clothes II 259
  26. Part Five. Solidarity
  27. 18. Antitotalitarianism As A Vocation: An Interview With Adam Michnik 271
  28. 19. Sometimes, A War Saves People 281
  29. 20. Gulf War Syndrome Mark Ii: The Case For Siding With The Iraqi People 285
  30. 21. “They Don’T Know One Little Thing” Pamela Bone 297
  31. 22. “Why Did It Take You So Long To Get Here?” 309
  32. Part Six. Liberal Statesmanship
  33. 23. Full Statement To The House Of Commons, 18 March 2003 329
  34. 24. The Threat Of Global Terrorism 340
  35. Contributors 353
  36. Index 361
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https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520932166-018

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents vii
  3. Acknowledgments xi
  4. Introduction: The Liberal-Humanitarian Case For War In Iraq 1
  5. Part One. Reconsidering Regime Change
  6. 1. The Case For Regime Change 29
  7. 2. Liberal Legacies, Europe’S Totalitarian Era, And The Iraq War: Historical Conjunctures And Comparisons 39
  8. 3. “Regime Change”: The Case Of Iraq 57
  9. 4. In The Murk Of It: Iraq Reconsidered 76
  10. Part Two. Philosophical Arguments
  11. 5. National Interest And International Law 95
  12. 6. Just War Against An “Outlaw” Region 106
  13. 7. Moral Arguments: Sovereignty, Feasibility, Agency, And Consequences 125
  14. Part Three. Critiques Of The Left
  15. 8. A Friendly Drink In A Time Of War 147
  16. 9. Wielding The Moral Club 152
  17. 10. Peace, Human Rights, And The Moral Choices Of The Churches 160
  18. 11. Ethical Correctness And The Decline Of The Left 179
  19. 12. Pages From A Daily Journal Of Argument 191
  20. 13. Liberal Realism Or Liberal Idealism: The Iraq War And The Limits Of Tolerance 207
  21. Part Four. European Dimensions
  22. 14. Iraq And The European Left 223
  23. 15. Guilt’S End: How Germany Redefined The Lessons Of Its Past During The Iraq War 233
  24. 16. The Iraq War And The French Left 243
  25. 17. Tempting Illusions, Scary Realities, Or The Emperor’S New Clothes II 259
  26. Part Five. Solidarity
  27. 18. Antitotalitarianism As A Vocation: An Interview With Adam Michnik 271
  28. 19. Sometimes, A War Saves People 281
  29. 20. Gulf War Syndrome Mark Ii: The Case For Siding With The Iraqi People 285
  30. 21. “They Don’T Know One Little Thing” Pamela Bone 297
  31. 22. “Why Did It Take You So Long To Get Here?” 309
  32. Part Six. Liberal Statesmanship
  33. 23. Full Statement To The House Of Commons, 18 March 2003 329
  34. 24. The Threat Of Global Terrorism 340
  35. Contributors 353
  36. Index 361
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