… all the good and loyal writers over the borderline in Right Blogsylvania hate the troops of the United States. It is the only logical conclusion, if you believe that the war is a mistake of such gigantic proportion that one day underground monuments will be built as a way of burying the disgrace brought on this nation by those who planned and encouraged this debacle. Yeah, it’ll be like an iceberg, with just the top of it visible aboveground where the individual dead soldiers can be listed, but below will be the largest part, to represent the magnitude of the treachery done to America by its “leaders.” When do we reach the tipping point where support of the Iraq War simply means you wish death upon more and more American soldiers? Or are we there already there?
So, when Michelle Malkin makes her solemn tribute to war dead, saying “Freedom is not free,” she could just as well say, “I don’t care who dies so my verson of imposed ‘liberty’ can be shoved into any place I decide needs it.”
Didja ever notice that people who keep reminding us that “freedom isn’t free” are the same ones who don’t lift a finger themselves to either defend it or take care of it?
Or, as Dr. Atrios put it yesterday, “The willingness to send others off to die for a misguided war because you wet your pants after 9/11 is called ‘cowardice’ not courage.”
Righties just hate it when somebody badmouths the Iraq War. I think this is because they hate interruptions in their fantasy life. For example, Victor Davis Hanson writes about Iraq as if he’s expecting the victory parade any minute now.
…what did 2,400 brave and now deceased Americans really sacrifice for in Iraq, along with thousands more who were wounded? And what were billions in treasure spent on? And what about the hundreds of collective years of service offered by our soldiers? What exactly did intrepid officers in the news like a Gen. Petreus, or Col. McMaster, or Lt. Col Kurilla fight for? …
… The Kurds would remain in perpetual danger. The Shiites would simply be harvested yearly, in quiet, by Saddam’s police state. The Marsh Arabs would by now have been forgotten in their toxic dust-blown desert. …
Yes, Iraqis are so much better off now. Nir Rosen wrote in yesterday’s WaPo …
Under the reign of Saddam Hussein, dissidents called Iraq “the republic of fear” and hoped it would end when Hussein was toppled. But the war, it turns out, has spread the fear democratically. Now the terror is not merely from the regime, or from U.S. troops, but from everybody, everywhere.
Oh, wait … Um, Victor Davis Hanson continues,
… We should remember the achievement this Memorial Day of those in the field who alone crushed the Taliban and Saddam Hussein, stayed on to offer a new alternative other than autocracy and theocracy, and kept a targeted United States safe from attack for over four years.
The reality is that the “crushed” Taliban is making a comeback. Today, thousands of grateful Afghanis rioted in Kabul after an American military truck crashed into a dozen cars on the north side of town, killing and wounding several people. Iraq is being taken over by our buddies in Iran and is well on the way toward becoming an Islamic theocracy. And whether the effort in Iraq did a dadblamed thing to make us safer is purely a matter of faith.
But Hanson’s got his lawn chair parked by the curb, and he’s got his balloons and flags and he knows that victory parade is just around the corner. I’m sure he finds us naysayers tiresome. We’re spoiling the parade.
Today a number of rightie bloggers express concern that Rep. John Murtha’s blabbing about the alleged massacre of civilians by U.S. troops at Haditha will hurt the war effort. IMO this exemplifies the classic colonialist attitude toward the simple swarthy natives, who won’t notice they’re oppressed if we don’t tell them. But the Gulf Times of Qatar says that Iraqis don’t consider a civilian massacre by U.S. troops to be news.
Word that US Marines may have killed two dozen Iraqi civilians in “cold-blooded” revenge after an insurgent attack has shocked Americans but many Iraqis shrug it off as an every day fact of life under occupation.
Despite US military denials, many Iraqis believe killing of men, women and children at the hands of careless or angry American soldiers is common. No reliable statistics are available
I very much hope this is not true, but if a large portion of the Iraqi population believes it is true, then a “rush to judgment” on Rep. Murtha’s part is the least of our problems in Iraq. If we are serious about getting some kind of good outcome in Iraq, such allegations need to be investigated promptly and vigorously, and the U.S. military in Iraq must demonstrate in no uncertain terms that abuse of innocent civilians will not be tolerated. And when allegations are unfounded, then the facts must be made clear and public asap. But pretending everything is just hunky-dory when it’s not is counter-productive to the war effort.
Unless, of course, the “war effort” you are rooting for is a fantasy that lives only in your own head, in which case unpleasant news will get in the way of your glorious imagination.
And then there’s the Dreamweaver in Chief, who enjoys rotating fantasies of being either Ronald Reagan or Harry Truman fighting either the Cold War or World War II. Next he may assume the identity of Frederick the Great in the Seven Years’ War.
The collective fantasies of the Right wouldn’t be such a problem except that they use real soldiers and real wars in their play-acting. Maybe we could get them interested in paintball or Final Conquest. They could enjoy their fantasies and we could get the real soldiers back.
I have noticed the righties like to accuse the left of “hurting the war effort” everytime anyone dares to speak out . For example : Abu gharaib…according to righties it wasn’t the torturing of prisoners that” hurt the war effort” but instead it was the lefts fault for mentioning it…..it isn’t the fact some troops may have flipped out and killed people that “hurts the effort”, but the fact that someone points it out that is the problem….The president breaking the law isn’t the issue,,it’s jailing the people who dared to inform the public….I could go on but I think the pattern is clear….
So here is what I think, as we end this day set aside to remember.I think anyone who would say nothing of the actions , but instead the messenger must really hate the troops and have a death wish in mind for future troops. I wonder if they have stopped to think what fate will befall our troops in future wars with actual nations with actual armies?Can we ever expect our troops will NOT be tortured again?By side stepping the issue via attacking the messenger we are making our position clear to the world…No matter how righties try to live in a fantasy world.. or in denial the whole entire world knows we torture..they see whats going on…all bets are off from this point forward as a result of such actions….we can never again look to the rest of the world for outrage when a terrible fate occurs to one of our own in wars of the future….I can’t imagine a soul..right or left who wanted that for our future troops..but now thanks to bushco that is the reality.. that old saying about how when you point at someone there are always 3 fingers pointing back at you is more true then ever
This can hardly be an incentive for getting new recruits
The plastic Army men photo: Perfect analogy of what righties seem to think…
Very nicely expressed, Justme… and I might also add to your fine comment that Guantanamo stands as a living tribute to America’s commitment to justice. The world is watching, and what they see is not Bush…they see America, unfortunately
Like many Americans, those on the right simply wish the war would go away. Unfortunately, every flagged-draped coffin or tale of atrocity is just another sign that it isn’t.
As to whether the killing of civilians is common practice, it doesn’t take a genius to realize that the concept of “collateral damage” assumes civilian deaths to be a necessary part of this country’s war strategy, with not much moral separation from their deliberate targeting. If you blow up a house, or level a city, where you know people are living, how can you excuse yourself? By saying, They got in the way of our bombs? That’s exactly what we say and it’s a morally repugnant stance to take.
Rumsfeld’s “flypaper” theory, by which we are supposed to bring all the world’s terrorists to Mr. and Mrs. Iraqi’s front door, is equally indefensible. Did anyone ask them what they thought about it? I wonder what Rumsfeld would say about daily car bombings in his neighborhood.
A lot of people on the right must need this war as a sop to their own sense of weakness in the face of the modern, multicultural world, where America may be great but where other countries want to pursue their own destinies. The American military–the “greatest power the world has ever known”–obviously gives a lot of people vicarious cause to puff out their chests. Any sign that this power might not be as great as they’d thought is going to cause some psychological damage among this crowd. Unfortunately, their responses do not seem to be productive and leading to changes of heart. Instead, they lash out of people like us, blaming us for the failures of their own delusions.
A lot of people on the right must need this war as a sop to their own sense of weakness in the face of the modern, multicultural world, where America may be great but where other countries want to pursue their own destinies.
Yes, I think that’s exactly right.
A lot of people on the right must need this war as a sop to their own sense of weakness in the face of the modern, multicultural world, where America may be great but where other countries want to pursue their own destinies.
We can tighten up this idea with just two words..We’re Amurkens!
John Perkins explains how the war on Iraq was born of greed and control in his book “Confessions of an economic hit man”.
It’s a great read about how the deeply linked Federal Government and the multi national corporations conspire with the IMF/ World Bank to control other nations through promises of developement with the EHM, intimidation with CIA “Jackals”, then if all else fails with a military assault.
Perkins notes that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq may have spared Venezuela, at least for the time being.
Perkins also suggests that the world is getting fed up with this crap and may one day turn against us with an economic war.
Ye reap what you sow…..
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