Former United Nations Ambassador John Bolton and Democratic political consultant and pundit James Carville debated over the Iraq War Monday night at the Forum on Current Affairs held in Bender Arena. The debate was moderated by George Stephanopoulos, anchor of ABC's "This Week."
The forum was the final event in the Kennedy Political Union's "Power of Voice" lecture series.
Stephanopoulos began the discussion by asking the panelists about their opinions of the war in Iraq. Bolton said that while it was right to overthrow Saddam Hussein, he would have turned authority back over to the Iraqis three-and-a-half years ago.
"You cannot create a political culture by making decisions for people," Bolton said. "It's long since time that we said to the Iraqis that they must decide to live in one country or three."
Bolton defended President Bush's decision to go to war, saying Hussein's regime was a threat in and of itself - even if Iraq did not yet have weapons of mass destruction - because Hussein had the intent and knowledge to create them. Hussein had declared that he had massive supplies and chemical weapons and had shown no record of destroying them, according to Bolton.
Carville countered that America did not invade Iraq because Hussein had scientists who knew how to create WMDs; America invaded because it was believed that Hussein had WMDs.
"Now all the sudden we're told that wasn't the reason we did it," Carville said. "Maybe we sent 160,000 people over there to look for records."
Carville said he agreed with Bolton that the Iraqis should be given political authority.
"We're not far apart on how to get out, we're far apart on how we got there," Carville said of his disagreements with Bolton.
Bolton and Carville proceeded to discuss the possibility of war in Iran, the firing of eight U.S. attorneys and the upcoming presidential election.
While Carville said he supports Hilary Clinton, D-N.Y., he said Barack Obama, D-IL., appeals to many Americans because he is perceived as different from politics as usual.
"I think Clinton's biggest challenge between now and the Iowa primary will be to show how she's different," Carville said.
Stephanopoulos then opened the panel to questions from the audience. While one student asked Bolton for advice on growing a mustache like the former ambassador's, most questions pertained to policy and international politics.
When asked how he would handle the war, Carville outlined a "James Carville Plan," proposing that Iraq should vote on whether or not they want U.S. troops to remain. He also said Bush should go before Congress and answer questions about the conduct of the war.
Bolton concluded the forum by saying he felt the predominant role of the U.S. in the world is more important then the U.N.'s role in preserving peace and security.
The forum was sponsored by the Kennedy Political Union, in part with the Undergraduate Senate, Student Activities, the American University Club Council, the School of Communication Undergraduate Council, the School of Public Affairs Undergraduate Council, the College Democrats, the College Republicans, the Class of 2008 and the Graduate Leadership Councils of the School of International Service, the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Public Affairs.
