War in the Gulf

Just wars, inevitable wars, alternatives to war—can they be sorted out as we think our way through to a position on the Gulf crisis? Are there any sturdy principles to grab hold of? When close to a million soldiers face off in the desert, when almighty oil is at stake, phrases like “international cooperation” and “world peace” sound disingenuous. But it seems to me these issues are the place to begin.

With the end of the cold war, the world community has a new...