Worth reading

In the continuing discussion over the Iraq War and just war doctrine I find it helpful to read serious and intelligent thoughts on both sides. A number of folks in the Catholic corner of the blogosphere continue to raise good questions about the war and just war theory (Mark Shea, for instance).

Over the last couple of days I've read/glanced at longer articles which are critical of the war, although not always from the just war perspective. For instance, intelligence analyst Kenneth Pollack, whose book The Threatening Storm made a persuasive case for war in late 2002, has an article in The Atlantic Monthly which addresses the question of WMD's (or lack thereof) in Iraq. Pollack isn't outright against the war, but he raises a number of critical points which are worth considering.

From a military perspective, Air War College professor Jeffrey Record -- in a study published under the auspices of the Army War College -- criticizes the handling of the entire war on terrorism, arguing that war in Iraq was in fact unnecessary. (NB: the military itself printed a critical document of the war on terror!) I haven't read the entire work, but again, it's something written by a serious person, not a partisan hack.

FYI!