Several weeks ago, I was having lunch with an American diplomat when he brought up the question of Iraq. Why is it, he asked, that people in Hong Kong and the rest of Asia do not seem to be very interested in Iraq?
Well, he did something to rectify the situation. To enhance interest in Iraq, the United States government this week brought to Hong Kong an expert on the Middle East, Michael Doran, an assistant professor at Princeton University.
Professor Doran spoke at the University of Hong Kong on Wednesday evening, drawing an audience of more than 100 people. Panel members were Chong Chan-yau, executive director of Oxfam, Richard Hu, of the university's department of politics and public administration, and myself.
Professor Doran made a compelling case for American military action. He said an Iraqi hegemony in the Persian Gulf would be dangerous for the American and the global economy, which I think is certainly a good reason why countries in Asia ought to be interested.
He said the US was unable to maintain sanctions against Iraq, following increasing criticism that the measures were killing children and not hurting the Iraqi regime. In the absence of sanctions, Iraq would grow powerful and be a threat to its neighbours.
A perceptive member of the audience asked whether the issue of weapons of mass destruction, frequently raised by the US, was in fact, a red herring. Professor Doran readily agreed that that was the case. The issue, he said, was whether the US should 'overthrow Saddam or hand the Gulf to him' because Iraq's neighbours, such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, were not strong enough to resist Iraq.
