Release date: Nov. 21, 2003

Emory Experts Comment on the Current State of Affairs in Iraq

Contact:
Deb Hammacher, 404-727-0644, dhammac@emory.edu
Elaine Justice, 404-727-0643, ejustic@emory.edu

Professor of international law David Bederman points to parallels between Iraq and the situation in Kosovo, when the United States finally took an international approach to problem-solving in the region. "As time goes on the mission will become more and more internationalized; the question is how we structure it." Bederman has been following issues such as the question of Iraqi debt, claims against Iraq and how those will be paid. He also is following legal developments related to those incarcerated at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Contact Bederman at 404-727-6822 or lawdjb@law.emory.edu.

International law and human rights expert Johan van der Vyver says that ratification of new constitutions in Afghanistan and Iraq "must recognize that a country's constitution is the most unexportable commodity that one could imagine." Van der Vyver, who has studied the formation of constitutions in countries around the world, says that they are not effective governing instruments if they are "superimposed on the people." An effective constitution "should be sensitive to the indigenous circumstances and demands of a particular country. It must address problems that are specific to the country concerned. In plural societies, it is of the utmost importance that all factions of the community participate in the negotiation of a constitution. Not a single group ought to be marginalized."

A native of South Africa and fellow of The Carter Center, van der Vyver has been involved with the formation and ratification process for the International Criminal Court. He was heavily involved in South Africa's transition to democracy and was a consultant to the development of the country's constitution. He also helped train judges, magistrates and public prosecutors under the new government. Contact van der Vyver at 404-727-6991 or jvyver@law.emory.edu.

"Bush turned a deaf ear to Germany and France in advising against going to Iraq and now Germany and France are turning a deaf ear to Bush's requests for aid. I think that the administration really wants to push this situation back to the U.N. at this point. This poses a dilemma because the administration would have to release some of the reconstruction business, but on the other hand they can't have the troops to do the sort of security and pacification that needs to happen," according to Larry Taulbee, associate professor of political science.

"Politically you see some impatience with the war effort. The ongoing attacks, particularly the context of the Chinook attack [of soldiers going on leave] generates the old idea that our troops are not safe anywhere. The criticism that our efforts are undermanned are on target, but politically you can't talk about putting in more troops because that will require activating more reserves. The U.S. desperately needs troop help not just money from other countries." Contact Taulbee at 404-727-6571 or psjt@emory.edu.

Carrie Wickham, associate professor of political science, can discuss attitudes in the broader Arab world toward the United States and what needs to be done to repair U.S.-Arab relations in light of the ongoing conflict. She can comment on what an appropriate post-war U.S. policy in the Middle East would look like. Wickham, who studies moderate Islamic resistance groups, can talk about various groups' views of U.S. goals and strategies. What does it mean when these groups talk about an Islamist solution? Who are the moderates? Contact Wickham at 404-727-0694 or cwickha@emory.edu.

"Our public statements are defeating our efforts at social change in Iraq," says Gordon Newby, professor of Middle Eastern and South Asian studies. "In our public statements, we are not clear about what we're doing there, why we're doing it and our resolve to stay. For example, the leaked report that said we'd be out before the elections that forced the president to say, 'No, we're going to stay.' The Iraqis don't want us to stay indefinitely because they look around and see that we're still in Germany, Japan, Vietnam…we project a military force that puts us in a neocolonial stance. To say we are going to stay is not good for our allies or our enemies, yet to say we'll get out before the elections says that this was all really political. It feeds into the cynicism about our motives for being there in the first place.

"Secondly, we haven't figured out how to address religion, society and politics in Iraq because there's an assumption that a reformed Iraq will be an Iraq that will have made the same choice about separation of church and state that we have, and that was only achieved by nearly 500 years of sectarian warfare in Europe. The fight over all of this is still not over because we know that many conservative Americans would like to undo some of that separation.

Newby, professor of Middle Eastern studies and director of the Institute for Comparative and International Studies at Emory, also can discuss the preservation and revitalization of Iraq's history and culture, its complex religious sensibilities, and the negotiations on aspects of its heritage both ancient and modern. He is the author of "The Making of the Last Prophet: A Reconstruction and Study of the First Biography of Muhammad" and "The Concise Encyclopedia of Islam," and editor of a forthcoming encyclopedia of the Middle East and South Asia. Contact Newby at 404-727-2717 or gdnewby@emory.edu.

Dan Reiter, Winship Research Professor of Political Science at Emory, can discuss the changing status and long-range implications for America's NATO and other alliance relationships in the wake of the war in Iraq. Reiter, whose research includes how democracies wage and win wars, international sources of democratization, and democratic alliances, also can discuss potential terrorist backlash. He is the author of "Democracies at War." Contact Reiter at 404-727- 0111 or dreiter@emory.edu.

Back