Date: Sat, 24 Jul 2004 19:34:12 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [HAB:] Political Ethics in an Age of Terror


Re: a review of _The Lesser Evil: Political Ethics in
an Age of Terror_.
By Michael Ignatieff. 
Princeton University Press, 2004

Ronald Steel, who teaches international relations at
the University of Southern California, offers a
thought-provoking review that looks to me like an
ideal response for Matt to my polemic against his
attitude toward terrorism (where Ignatieff looks, via
Steele, like an idealization of my view against Matt's
view, while Steel offers a critique of Ignatieff
worthy of Matt's endorsement).

'The Lesser Evil': Fight Fire With Fire
by Ronald Steel (teaches international relations at
the University of Southern California)
NY Times Book Review, July 25, 2004

http://homepage.mac.com/gedavis/Steel.html

I haven't read Ignatieff's book (though I have it),
and I don't entirely endorse the Ignatieff of Steele's
review (which I presume is an accurate construal of
Ignatieff's view; thus, I'd say I don't entirely
endorse Ignatieff's view). But I easily recognize that
Ignatieff's view is very much like mine. Responding to
Steele would be immensely useful for me. 

Writes Steele:

S> To describe, as Ignatieff does, terror-wielding
groups like Al Qaeda and Hamas as ''less political
than apocalyptic'' and essentially ''death cults'' may
be comforting. But it is dangerously self-deceptive.
It conveniently allows us to dismiss their obvious and
usually explicit political goals as simply a mask for
their irrationality. It encourages us to believe that
those who oppose us for our actions are ''in love with
death'' rather than being governed by beliefs as
important to them as ours are to us.

G: I think that Steele is confused, but I recognize
that it's common to think of terrorism along lines of
guerrilla war. I'd love to respond to Steele's review,
on its own terms as reading of terrorism, but I'm
going to decline. 

In any case, I'm in solidarity with Steele in being
against what "indulges us in waging 'war' on the
manifestations of terrorism rather than dealing with
its causes." Democratic constitutionalism is the best
long-range antidote to forces that drive "the weak"
(Steele) to extremist violence. May Arafat be forced
to recognize that. May Iraqi democracy succeed. 




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