Saturday, August 13, 2005

Good evaluation of the moral questions of Iraq

I have always admired Christopher Hitchens for his intellect and moral clarity. Especially when I find out that he agrees with my positions.
I will admit, that I thought our intervention into the Balkans was a mistake. To my understanding, it was a civil war, and they have all the logic of a bitter divorce (I hate you so much, but I never want you to forget me, so I will make your life a living hell).
But, I think that the point of Hitchen's piece was that supposed moral opposition to the war is based on partisan politics. Take Ms. Sheehan, who is camped outside of Crawford Texas, demanding to meet with the President so she can chew him out. Disregard that she had already met with him, or that her story seems to have been changed by her new found friends. Suppose for a minute, that the mother in question wanted to praise President Bush for trying to bring democracy to Iraq. Would that get any coverage? I don't think so, because it has happened.
This brings me to one of the trite comments so often said by the anti-war crowd. "If you believe in the war, why aren't you over there fighting it?" Seems to me that the proper retort is, "If you believe that homelessness is a problem in this country, why aren't you taking homeless people into your house?"
Both questions are designed to hurt the opponent, rather than to raise legitimate issues.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!