Two panelists and a nearly-packed lecture hall discussed the political and economic implications of what will occur in Iraq after the war. The final panel in a three-part series featured Jim McClure, associate professor of economics, and Cyrus Reed, assistant provost of international education Tuesday afternoon.
McClure began by outlining two proposals for the possible restructuring of the Iraqi government.
"First, we need to decentralize power in Iraq," McClure said.
He said currently Iraq is under an extreme form of concentrated, centralized power and that decentralizing it would cause the human welfare of the Iraqi people to rise.
McClure then suggested that the oil profits should be shared with the Iraqi people. He also made suggestions about giving subsidies to poor Iraqis to encourage them to work.
Another topic McClure covered consisted of what would become of the Iraq debt from Saddam Hussein's regime after the regime was dissolved.
"I would argue that the people of Iraq should not be held responsible," McClure said.
He argued that people who were enslaved should not be required to pay the debts of their tormentor.
The panel switched gears with Reed's opening statements, focusing on the challenges the United States will face after the war ends.
Reed said the United States does not have enough manpower to police the entire country of Iraq. He noted that when the war began, Iraqis in countries like Jordan returned to Iraq to defend their homeland.
"People don't defend their homeland when those coming in are guests," Reed said, explaining that the migration of people into Iraq was aimed at protecting the area from foreign invasion.
"Without popular will on our side, it is difficult to have law and order," Reed said. "It is much easier to knock over a bad regime than bring in something new."
To remedy this, Reed said the reconstruction of a new government had to involve the Iraqi people.
"We need to help them do it themselves," he said.
However, Reed said the organization of some political parties is not strong in Iraq, which may make reconstructing the government more difficult.
"The liberals in the Middle East have not been politically active since 1920," Reed said. "The liberals are not allowed to organize."
He noted that the Muslim Brotherhood is the best organized party in the area.
Reed also put emphasis on the role of neighboring countries. He said with the collapse of Iraq, neighboring countries will secure their borders or try to establish buffer zones.
Audience members focused more on making statements than asking questions of the panelists. One audience member, identifying himself as a veteran, said the conflict in Iraq was a "political war of oil and big money." The audience member said the United States should focus on rebuilding the economy in the United States before getting involved with other countries. The comment was met with applause from the audience.
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