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THE NEW REPUBLIC AND IRAN. TNR needs to decide what rules it plays by. Whenever you attack them for something crazy that's published in their magazine, they protest that it's a home for all opinions, honest debate is terrific, it's not the perspective of the editors, etc, etc, etc. It becomes clear, over time, that you're not supposed to suggest that articles published in the magazine reflect the viewpoint of the magazine. So I genuinely don't understand what Jon Chait, one of the foremost advocates of this don't-blame-us-we-just-publish-here view, thinks he's proving when he says:
I figured any lingering confusion [as to TNR's position on the war] would have been cleared up a couple months ago, when TNR published a special issue on Iran, with four articles on the topic. The most hawkish of them urged: "military action really should be the last resort. By far the best option remains the marshalling of international political and economic pressure against Iran so as to isolate and impoverish the ruling elite and strengthen the hand of those who already may be questioning the wisdom of the current path."First off, Chait seems to be implying that TNR is against war with Iran. Then they should say so. Because the quote Chait offers doesn't say we shouldn't go to war, it just says we should try diplomacy first. That's less opposed to war than it is procrastinating on it, given both the willingness of Iran to compromise and this administration's record with negotiations. But let's talk about the broader issue of specifics: TNR had four articles, all saying different things, none of which I'm allowed to assume reflect the magazine's opinion (and none of which could, given that they make contradictory points). Chait is right to be proud of that issue, which did offer some interesting takes on Iran, including Robert Kagan's memorable, "To avoid conflict, prepare for war." But the letter from the editors wasn't even about Iran, and so a policy of "ruthless seriousness" remains the clearest policy prescription TNR has yet endorsed, even as the "ruthlessly serious" formulation attacks others for being insufficiently attentive to the issue of Iran. But look: If they would like to actually come out against bombing Iran, I will be the first to congratulate them. --Ezra Klein
