Any student that pondered over what the prerequisites were
before the U.S. military could become involved in Iraq probably
looked to their local news and the front covers of their
newspapers.
- Janna Hutz
- LSA Honors Program Director Stephen Darwall speaks on the situation in Iraq during a symposium held at the Michigan Union yesterday. (TREVOR CAMPBELL/Daily)
Yesterday’s symposium, “The Destruction of Civilization and The
Obligation of War,” examined the military’s involvement.
William Schulz, U.S. director of Amnesty International, a group
that works to protect human rights worldwide, went into detail on
his list of prerequisites needed for military intervention.
“The question of when war should be used in defense of human
rights is a complex one,” Schulz said. He added that he disagreed
with what he described as a hasty decision of America’s military
invasion in Iraq.
The list of conditions, Schulz said, included that the possible
invaders should be able to know whether the invasion will be
successful or that it will make the situation worse and that all
invasions must be in agreement with the United Nations.
The symposium focused on questions as when should a war be used
to protect human rights and issues surrounding the aftermath of the
war.
“It was a marvelous turnout, it shows how vital these issues
still are,” said Le Moyne University history Prof. Keith
Watenpaugh. “Iraq may have disappeared from the front pages but
people are still hungry for more information.”
Social Work student Laura Clayman said, “This symposium showed
how extremely important it is that the University brings attention
to the issues surrounding the war. “
Near Eastern studies Prof. Piotr Michalowski’s lecture presented
the destruction of Iraq’s museum after the war.
“It was a complicated presentation ,but one of my points was to
make people aware that more than 14,000 artifacts have been
destroyed since the war. And the destruction of archeological
artifacts which is happening as we speak is an even more tragic
event than anything happening to the museum because it’s been going
on for months and the legacy of human culture is being destroyed,”
Michalowski said.
LSA Honors Program Director Stephen Darwall also spoke about
Iraq during the symposium.
University President Mary Sue Coleman made the introductory
remarks for the four panelists. The Institute for the Humanities
and the Center for Near Eastern and North African Studies sponsored
the symposium.
“This symposium managed to take the academic prowess of three
professors and make it very real for the audience in the room as
well as the reality of the plight of the Iraqi people,” Schulz
said.
The symposium was held in the Michigan Union.