IRAQ WAR: Reasons for war with Iraq, etc.

Paul Davis says "I believe it is a mistake to attempt to simplify this policy debate to any single axis like humanitarian intervention vs national security, whether for or against; the issues are complex and multi-faceted. Consider a weighted average decision model. In this model one would rank unpleasant countries around the world on a range of factors - humanitarian considerations, strategic location, value of resources, military prognosis, international linkages, WMD pursuit, terrorist links, etc. etc. Each factor would require a weight, and each country a score on each factor, perhaps with a confidence measure attached to this estimate. IMHO an analysis of this type, which is after all textbook MBA stuff (GWB-Harvard?), would indicate why Iraq is currently at the top of the list. I believe a multi-factor approach like this has been adopted in allocating publicly funded health resources, another sensitive topic."

Ronald Hilton - 4/12/03