'Price of Democracy'; sounds like this is going to be a hugely wrought-out, deep-thinking post doesn't it? Er, not really, because I haven't the time. I was spurred to think about it though by Paul Thomas's opinion piece in today's NZ Herald in which he compares America's journey (somewhat strangely I thought) with that of Bruce Springsteen.
You can tell he is another journalist who is not a fan of the war in Iraq and/or George Bush by the following -
"Precious little"? Really? Is he describing Democracy and the right to vote as precious little? Not to me it isn't. And did he think that this democracy would come about about with no bloodshed? Democracy always costs, and most of the time the cost is in human lives. Winston Churchill once famously said, "Democracy is the worst form of government... except for all the other forms that have been tried".
Are the Iraqi people better off now than they were under Saddam's rule? My personal opinion is YES. They are having free, democratic elections now. Who knows how long the peace will last, but at least they decide that among themselves.
Should we just have left Iraq alone? Was Saddam really that bad? I think the answer can be found in that he was tried for Crimes Against Humanity, sentenced to die, and executed by hanging. In fact, I read that they found it hard to find impartial witnesses to testify at his trial because just about everyone in Iraq has family that have been killed by him or his regime.
Statues and Shoes
It's strange how quickly people change. I remember seeing video of Saddam's statue being toppled over in 2003 and an Iraqi man running over and pounding the statue with his shoe.
Now they're throwing shoes at George Bush and demanding a statue be erected to the man who threw them.
You can tell he is another journalist who is not a fan of the war in Iraq and/or George Bush by the following -
[...] when America, as it surely will, walks away leaving its foes more or less intact and with precious little to show for the new white headstones in Arlington National Cemetery.
"Precious little"? Really? Is he describing Democracy and the right to vote as precious little? Not to me it isn't. And did he think that this democracy would come about about with no bloodshed? Democracy always costs, and most of the time the cost is in human lives. Winston Churchill once famously said, "Democracy is the worst form of government... except for all the other forms that have been tried".
Are the Iraqi people better off now than they were under Saddam's rule? My personal opinion is YES. They are having free, democratic elections now. Who knows how long the peace will last, but at least they decide that among themselves.
Should we just have left Iraq alone? Was Saddam really that bad? I think the answer can be found in that he was tried for Crimes Against Humanity, sentenced to die, and executed by hanging. In fact, I read that they found it hard to find impartial witnesses to testify at his trial because just about everyone in Iraq has family that have been killed by him or his regime.
Statues and Shoes
It's strange how quickly people change. I remember seeing video of Saddam's statue being toppled over in 2003 and an Iraqi man running over and pounding the statue with his shoe.
Now they're throwing shoes at George Bush and demanding a statue be erected to the man who threw them.
Thomas is an idiot who can't even get the basic facts right.
ReplyDeleteReagan didn't use Springsteen's song during the campaign, the Vietnam War had been over a decade before Born in the USA, the Vietnam Vets were the best educated force ever (well above the level of the general population), only 25% were draftees, minorities and lower classes had proportionately less casualties than the White troops, troops suffering from mental problems were proportionately a tenth of that suffered by US troops in WW2, and on and on.
The fact is Springsteen took advantage of a myth to craft a great song.. and Thomas has taken similar license to gloss over the fact that a powerful Democrat Congress marched a successful US force out of Vietnam.. and he, Thomas, hopes that an equally powerful Dem Congress and President will march a successful US force out of Iraq.
JC