Barbarism lives

Submitted by Andy Triggs (United Kingdom), Apr 2, 2003 at 05:39

"U.S. flags are the emblem of the invading war machine in Iraq today. They are the emblem of the occupying power. The only true heroes are those who find ways that help defeat the U.S. military."

Now, this isn't really a very extreme statement by De Genova, is it? Iraq is most certainly occupied by a U.S. Military force, a force which is being resisted strongly, and which is causing untold suffering to the Iraqi people. It *is* an invasion, and no matter what the supposed motives for that invasion are, U.S. foreign policy in this and many other matters has been undoubtedly aggressive and interventionary. If we interpret the last sentence to mean that people who promote a reduction in the spread of U.S. military and political dominance are doing a good thing, then that doesn't sound so bad, does it? U.S military spending is ridiculous, and it amazes me how many Americans are willing to support this continued abuse of their money, as well as the suffering and chaos that such policies cause around the world.

I'd also like to point out that a government is *not* it's people. U.S. democracy, as with many countries including my own, is nominal, and is seldom likely to reflect the true beliefs of the people, and much more likely to try to subvert those beliefs through lies, obfuscation and propaganda. 60% of Americans believe that Saddam Hussein and his regime were somehow linked to the World Trade Center attacks, despite the lack of any conclusive evidence.

The 'million Mogadishus' comment *is* extreme, but doesn't sound very well thought out - I find it hard to believe that De Genova wishes for millions of deaths (should we decide to take him literally, which seems naive). Isn't death the very thing he opposes? Anyway, even if De Genova is motivated by a blind hatred of the current U.S. administration and the country's less tangible ruling elite, isn't a blind love (i.e. patriotism) a similarly dangerous pursuit? We need logic and discussion if we are to transcend the barbarism which we pretend to have left behind. De Genova seems to be primarily guilty of passion, of an exasperation at the current situation which I and many people around me share.

...

---

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".