Everyday Ethics

As the quagmire that is the Iraq war continues unabated, everyday Americans seem to be pushing strongly for a withdrawal with an enthusiasm that increases nearly every day.  We have now watched this misguided undertaking drag on for over five years, and despite the declaration of “mission accomplished” by our president, both Iraqis and Americans continue to die each day over a cause that most struggle even to define.     As a fairly vocal advocate of socially responsible foreign policy, I must admit a strong tendency to speak for immediate withdrawal of US troops, and it is a sentiment that I share with many Americans.  But is this a morally acceptable action?  Could we, the United States, simply walk away from the Iraq debacle without committing a moral atrocity in the process? 

This is a question that can easily fall into heavy debate, as one should consider implications of such an action with regard to long-term national security, among other relevant issues.  However, my intent is to answer the question of whether it is morally wrong to leave Iraq as it currently stands and walk away.  Although I would love to see our troops come home and to witness a defeat of George W. Bush’s policy of preemptive war, this would not be a morally appropriate choice for the simple fact that we have created a chaotic situation that did not previously exist. 

The argument that Saddam Hussein was an evil dictator and that overthrowing his regime was the right thing to do may or not be true, but one cannot argue with the fact that his government, though deeply flawed, was relatively stable and did not show any signs of the breakdown into sectarian violence that has occurred.  Thus, it is reasonable to state that the US invasion of Iraq and overthrow of Hussein is the direct cause of the current chaos in Iraq because our actions eliminated the system of stability that existed and we have failed to replace it with an equally stable system. 

In this light, our moral obligation becomes simple.  It is comparable to a person who makes a mess, and then has an obligation to clean up the mess.  The mess wasn’t there before, and my actions clearly caused it, therefore I am responsible for correcting the problem.  Even very young children can grasp this concept, yet our frustration with the challenges of nation-building has caused us to lose our sense of moral duty.

The only action that would release the United States from the ethical obligation of continuing to try and stabilize Iraq would be if the Iraqi people democratically approved a full US withdrawal.  This would represent a conscious decision to transfer responsibility for any future negative situations onto the Iraqi’s themselves.  Until the Iraqi people release us from liability for the disaster that we have created, a developed and reasonable moral framework requires that we remain in Iraq until the stability that existed under Hussein is restored. 

This is the price that we must now pay for a phenomenally poor decision to invade a sovereign nation without just cause.  Accountability is not often pleasant, but it is ultimately a necessary component of the ethical life and we cannot let frustration and loss deter us from our higher goals. 

About the Author

Elijah Weber is a graduate student at Bowling Green State University. He holds a Master's degree in philosophy from Colorado State University, and Bachelor’s degrees in sociology and philosophy from Chapman Univerity. He currently lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan with his wife Laura, his son Brandon, age two and a half, and two cats, both of whom are mentally deranged.