The Right War? The Conservative Debate on Iraq

To declare oneself a conservative in American foreign policy is to enter immediately into a fractious, long-standing debate. Should America retreat from the world, deal with the world as it is, or try to transform it in its own image? Which school of thought - traditionalist, realist, or neoconservative - is closest to the country's ideals and interests? With the dramatic shift in American foreign policy since 9/11, these differences have been brought into stark relief, especially by the Bush administration's decision to go to war in Iraq. This book brings together the most articulate and influential voices in the debate among conservatives over the tactics and strategy of America's engagement in Iraq. The collection runs the gamut from protests to second thoughts to full-throated endorsements. The contributors are major conservative spokesmen whose ideological influences have a role in guiding the Bush administration as it formulates its policy goals for Iraq.

Introduction Gary Rosen; 1. 'Iraq's Future - and Ours' Victor Davis Hanson; 2. 'The right war for the right reasons' Robert Kagan and William Kristol; 3. 'Iraq: losing the American way' James Kurth; 4. 'Intervention with a vision' Henry A. Kissinger; 5. 'An end to illusion' the Editors of National Review; 6. 'Quitters' Andrew Sullivan; 7. 'A more humble hawk'/'crisis of confidence' David Brooks; 8. 'Time for Bush to see the realities of Iraq' George F. Will; 9. 'Iraq may survive, but the dream is dead' Fouad Ajami; 10. 'The perils of hegemony' Owen Harries; 11. 'Like it's 1999: how we could have done it right' Fareed Zakaria; 12. 'Reality Check - this is war'/'In modern imperialism, U.S. needs to walk softly' Max Boot; 13. 'A time for reckoning: ten lessons to take away from Iraq' Andrew J. Bacevich; 14. 'World War IV: how it started, what it means, and why we have to win' Norman Podhoretz; 15. 'The neoconservative moment' Francis Fukuyama; 16. 'In defense of democratic realism' Charles Krauthammer; 17. 'Stay the course!' is not enough' Patrick J. Buchanan; 18. 'Realism's shining morality' Robert F. Ellsworth and Dimitri K. Simes; 19. 'Has Iraq weakened us?' Victor Davis Hanson; 20. 'Democracy and the Bush doctrine' Charles R. Kesler; 21. 'A time for humility' Eliot A. Cohen; 22. 'Birth of a democracy' Reuel Marc Gerecht.

The Right War? brings together the most articulate and influential voices in the debate among conservatives over the tactics and strategy of America's engagement in Iraq. The collection runs the gamut from protests to second thoughts to full-throated endorsements.

Gary Rosen is the managing editor of Commentary Magazine. He holds a PhD in political science from Harvard and is the author of American Compact: James Madison and the Problem of Founding. His articles and reviews have appeared in Commentary, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post. His television appearances include MSNBC, the BBC, C-Span, and the History Channel. He is the former senior editor of the Manhattan Institute's City Journal.