Why liberals need an affirmative position on Iraq

With the U.S. invasion of Iraq under way, American liberals seem at a loss for how to respond. In recent months, most lined up against unilateral war; now that war has begun, the only semi-coherent message emerging from progressive ranks is one of rejectionism. But that tack is a mistake. And it is one liberals could pay for dearly — at the ballot box and in the department of intellectual credibility — in future years. When it comes to questions of war, Iraq and reconstruction, liberals need to start thinking constructively, and fast.

Liberals held a wide variety of views on the necessity of war during the months leading up to invasion. We were no exception: One of us fully supported the administration’s war plans while the other was critical of the president’s unilateral course. But that is all in the past. War is now a reality. And it seems to us that the only moral and practical option for liberals is to begin immediately campaigning for a more ambitious, comprehensive and compassionate reconstruction of Iraq than the one the Bush administration is likely to embrace — while supporting the war effort that will lay the groundwork for such plans to be enacted. — Nick Penniman and Richard Just, TomPaine and The American Prospect