Stanford Scholars proclaim U.S. policy in Iraq 'nuts,' 'a mess'

[dArKeR]

At the opening of a panel discussion last week titled "What Are We Doing In Iraq?" political science Associate Professor Michael McFaul got straight to the point.

"We have no idea," he said. "We're making it up as we go along."

But McFaul cautioned that any U.S. administration would have faced similar challenges because the government is organized to fight the Cold War, not orchestrate power transitions abroad. "We do not do planning for this type of thing," he said. "Therefore, we're in the mess we're in."

The Stanford Institute for International Studies (SIIS) sponsored the public forum Jan. 26 to review developments in Iraq almost a year after the U.S.-led invasion. The speakers also discussed what is being done to transform the former dictatorship into a stable, democratic state. In addition to McFaul, economist John McMillan, SIIS Senior Fellow Donald Emmerson and SIIS Deputy Director Stephen Krasner participated in the lively, well-attended 90-minute event moderated by SIIS Director Coit D. Blacker.

http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2004/february4/iraq-24.html