April 03, 2003

Liberal Norah Vincent Supports the War and Writes of the Rebirth of the Left

Liberal Norah Vincent rejects “the ‘Blame America First’ brigade, which was born on 9/12 and instantly became the de facto voice of the left.” She quotes numerous liberal voices who support the war.

The hyperbole has boiled over, prompting critics such as Salon columnist Andrew Sullivan to declare: “Once the left starts equating legitimate acts of war … with the unprovoked terrorist attacks on civilians, it has lost its mind, not to speak of its soul.”

But the truth is that a few brilliant voices on the sane left—most notably writers Christopher Hitchens, Nat Hentoff and Paul Berman—are spearheading a long-awaited rebirth of the intellectual left. And they have been doing this all along, if anyone cares to follow their admirable lead.

In October, after more than 20 years at the left’s house organ, the Nation, Hitchens announced his decision to leave the magazine. “I have come to realize that the magazine itself takes a side … the amoral side … in this argument and is becoming the voice and echo chamber of those who truly believe that John Ashcroft is a greater menace than Osama bin Laden,” he said.

Since then, Hitchens has made a leftist moral case for the war in Iraq, based largely on his contention that using American military power is legitimate if it ends gross human rights violations like those being committed against Iraqi civilians by Saddam Hussein, a sentiment notably absent from most antiwar rallies.

The full article is available here.