Reductio ad Hitlerum

Submitted by Fredrik (Sweden), Jun 12, 2011 at 05:46

... by referring to the old Hitler-argument. I would hardly compare Osama bin Laden to Hitler in terms of his crimes against humanity. Unless Osama is responsible for a genocide I haven't heard of that is.

Fortunately a much more convenient and temporary subject to comparison is available who likewise was a target in the War on Terror. Namely Saddam Hussein. He was even awarded by UNESCO for his modernization of Iraq's public health-care system. Still there's a taboo recognizing such feats in men who eventually grew, or already was, tyrants and oppressors.

While it's important for nations, cultures and even humanity to have it's villains, I believe it's also important to recognize these factors. I highly doubt Osama bin Laden nor Saddam Hussien amassed such great support and devoted followers by being antisocial assholes. While I don't think Osama deserves any praise at all I do believe these opinions about him are important to know about and be aware off. They are much more revealing than clinging to the belief that the only reason he has followers is because he, and they, are evil who do evil deeds.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".