The Great Iraq Debate
10:55pm
From 6:45pm, listen live on Spectator.co.uk to a Spectator / Intelligence Squared debate on the future of Iraq. William Shawcross and Lt Peter Hegseth, executive director of Vets for Freedom, will propose that the surge is working and let’s win before we leave. Ali Allawi and Sir Christopher Meyer will argue for a staged withdrawal as part of a negotiated settlement. The case that allied forces should withdraw as soon as possible will be put by Tony Benn and Rory Stewart.
The debate will be broadcast live from Methodist Central Hall in Westminster and will be chaired by Andrew Neil. Once you’ve heard the panel’s views, have your say by voting in our online poll.
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Comments
Jo Schwarz
December 11th, 2007 9:52pmLt. Peter Hegseth turned the debate in his opening arguments. He was able to put a human face on the people of Iraq - unlike the rest of the panel, who dealt with Iraqis as some sort inconvience.Pete's humility was profound.
Bernard Dugdale
December 12th, 2007 12:05pmI agree with Jo Schwarz. I voted that we should leave immediately, and found both William Shawcross and Christopher Meyer distinctly unimpressive, likewise General Jackson with some pointless and stupid comments from the floor. But Lt Hegseth was interesting, passionate and as Jo suggests, humble. He told us "Don't imagine the US army in Iraq in 2007 is the same as the US army that invaded Iraq in 2003, it isn't". I still think we should just get out, but of the 4 speakers opposed to my view, his were the only comments that gave me pause for thought. His motion gained the most between the pre-debate and post-debate votes (I think), which surprised me, and it certainly wasn't down to William Shawcross!
NJ Murdoch
December 15th, 2007 2:48amI thought Lt. Peter Hegseth was superb. He was thoughtful, intelligent and actually (like the above comments say) addressed what is happening under the new strategy on the ground, with repect to the Iraqi population. I thought Shawcross was not bad, especially reminding people about the global nature of the threat, and the consequences of premature withdrawal. Meyer was surprisingly poor and General Jackson (from the floor) long-winded. As for Tony Benn's disgusting moral equivalence between US/UK servicemen and Islamic-Jihadists, it just reminds you how a large section of the Left have sunk into nihilism, relativism and outright self-hatred. It was especially egregious, as he lost family members fighting Fascism in WW2, and was also sitting next to ex-soldiers Rory Stewart Lt. Peter Hegseth. Obscene and shameful.