I was asked what would it take for me to support going to war with Iraq.
At a minimum, I would require a reason that could hold up to rational scrutiny. Many reasons have been put forward for fighting the war, I'll try to address "what it would take" for me to find each a valid reason.
1) We are fighting to disarm a dangerous state. If we had a general policy of global disarmament in which we supported treaties limiting chemical, biological and space based weapons, supported a nuclear test ban, sought the decrease of present nuclear arsenals and showed leadership in getting the world and UN behind the disarmament of 'dangerous' states, then there might be some legitimacy to this reason. If this were the case, then if Iraq was a threat (which its neighbors seem to deny at the moment) and if other means have proven hopeless and it seems that an attack would promote peace in the long run and the U.N. or some other appropriate body thought an attack was a good idea then I suspect I would support it.
2) We are fighting for long term U.S. economic interests (Oil) Can't think of a scenario in which I would support this.
3) We are fighting to liberate the Iraqi people from a repressive regime The peoples of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in 89 were liberated without an army, as were the peoples of South Asia under Gandhi's leadership. South Korea, Taiwan, Argentina, Greece, Turkey and the Philippines have all peacefully rejected dictators. I believe these things have to come from within, as is happening in Iran presently and may be happening at a slower pace in China. I think there are things we can do to abet the process and we should definitely not be propping up dictators, but I don't see how I would support a war killing many of the people we would claim to be saving. If he was presently killing large numbers of people I might look at this differently.
4) Saddam is an avatar of Hitler and if we appease him we will bring on greater disaster, it is better to fight him now After he grabs the Sudetenland, I mean Kuwait, then maybe, depending on circumstances similar to case 1
5) Iraq supports terrorism If there is evidence for this and we treat it as an issue of justice. We change our minds about an International Court of Justice and make our case to it or to the World Court or to the U.N. They demand Iraq's support be stopped and if it isn't we offer to stop it for them.
6) Iraq is a Muslim country and we are seeking vengeance Nope, not a good enough reason
7)Iraq is part of the axis of evil Huh? I don't get it.
8) Saddam is evil, brutalizing and killing many of his own people If we had a Wilsonian or Jimmy Carteresque foreign policy based on human rights, even then see #3
9) We must fight if the U.N is to have any legitimacy If we cared about and supported the U.N. and its resolutions, and the U.N. asked us to fight to support its resolution, I might be OK about fighting.
10) Pax Americana, the world will be safer and more peaceful when we shape it in our image (also known as the Borg strategy 'resistance is futile, you will be assimilated') Nope, I don't buy it as a reason for war. It's happening on its own anyway.
11) We made a mistake in the Gulf War by letting Saddam stay in power, we can rectify that now No, I don't believe we can.
12) Oedipal issues in the Bush family, also "They shot at my dad" Nope
13) To win the war on terrorism we have to disrupt the Islamic and/or Arab status quo by creating a westward leaning state with a vibrant middle class that will serve as a model for the remaining states. If this could be done peacefully OK, but I wouldn't support such a war.
14) We must fight for our future safety from Weapons of Mass Destruction and from terrorists At a minimum I would have to believe we would be safer after the war, I don't.
I'm OK with wars in which a strong army with international legitimacy breaks up violence between smaller armies, such as our wars in Bosnia and Serbia. I think we should have intervened in Rwanda, I think we should have stayed in Somalia. I think there may be a role for us now in Algeria or the Congo.
In general it seems wars have many unintended consequences and must be avoided if at all possible. Would we have been so sure about the first Gulf War if we knew it would eventually lead to the events of 9/11?