Mark Danner and Leon Wieseltier return to Swarthmore tonight for a reprisal of their March debate on the war in Iraq. This time, the journalists will lead an informal forum on issues in the aftermath of the war, namely the rebuilding of Iraq and the position of the U.S. government.
“Justice, Security and the War in Iraq” will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the Lang Performing Arts Center and will be facilitated by political science professor Kenneth Sharpe. Sharpe, who also moderated the March debate, hopes that students will attend this event armed with “lots of good questions” for the two speakers.
During “The Great Debate” in March, Danner, a professor of journalism at UC Berkeley and a staff writer for The New Yorker, argued against the war on the premise that it required “unnecessary efforts” that carried “enormous consequences,” The Phoenix reported.
Wieseltier, literary editor of The New Republic, represented the pro-war side and said the international community had the responsibility to defend the freedoms of humanity. Swarthmore hosted the debate, which drew an audience of over 400.
The two speakers are old colleagues who have agreed and clashed on issues before, though Danner has gone to Baghdad and has “more active” experience of the war, while Wieseltier better represents the Washington perspective, Sharpe said.
Meanwhile, Sharpe expects to urge both speakers to focus the discussion on issues such as the deception of the American public, the United States’ ability to create a replacement government in Iraq, and the state of U.S. security today.
The speakers were brought to Swarthmore by David Gelber ’63, senior producer at CBS, with the help of Maurice Eldridge ’61, vice president of college and community relations, and Director of News and Information Tom Krattenmaker.
“The war has happened, and Danner and Wieseltier spoke to a large audience here,” Eldridge said. "It seemed to me that it would be useful to have their perspectives many months later.
“This is an important period in current political history,” he said. “The campus needs opportunities to focus on this topic.”
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April 26, 2012
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