The anti-war camp was right, but that's no reason to be smug
By Jonathan Freedland
THE GUARDIAN
It IS, however, reason to elect new American leadership in 2004.
Freedland is right on the money, however, when he says:
"..It's no good thinking, as some on the left have, that there could be merit in the US (especially) getting a bloody nose in Iraq."
"..People who can murder UN or Red Cross workers do not deserve to be viewed as warriors in a heroic anti-imperialist struggle."
"..Those who opposed the war need to start thinking ahead. Some activists are already doing just that, debating what needs to happen next."
"..occupiers have responsibilities: once they take over a country, it is up to them to make sure power and water work, schools and hospitals function. The Americans and Brits cannot just cut and run. Rather, they should work out a fast-track plan for a peaceful withdrawal, handing power over Iraq to Iraqis themselves...In place of an American pro-consul, the country needs to come under a UN mandate. This would require a loss of face by Washington, letting the likes of France and Germany in on the action, but the alternative -- young American soldiers remaining a shooting gallery for Iraqi fighters -- is surely worse."
"...the peace camp has to put its victory in the last argument behind it -- and fight the battle ahead."
I suggest a full reading of ths article.
It makes a world of sense.
Political schadenfreude is dandy until you realize that the Iraqis are suffering injustice upon injustice.
I only hope people will not forget the dangerous stupidity of Bush if and when this is all said and done.
Afghanistan Will be 'Islamic Republic of Afghanistan'...
Nation to Remain a Theocracy
Will the progression from Islamic Emirate to Islamic Republic create conditions for healthy democracy at all?
Does the absence of sharia law equate to liberty?
An Islamic Republic is based more on obedience and allegiance and less on democracy.
There is always extreme contradiction when you have what constitutes the rule of God vs. the rights of citizens.
An open society, a crucial ingredient of healthy democracy, is discouraged when theocratic forces are allowed to
dominate.
THINK IRAN!
I am having serious doubts about America's post 9-11 success in Afghanistan.
It causes me grief to think our troops are dying for a similar result in Iraq.
~~~~
Ref: Afghanistan Constitution
Clinton the Philosopher
" Once you believe you have the absolute truth,
then it’s not possible for everyone to count..
or for everyone to have a role to play in the world.
There is a truth,
life is a search for it,
religion is a pathway to it,
but we’re all imperfect and nobody has it. "
_______________
William Jefferson Clinton
from a speech at Yale Center for the Study of Globalization
31 Oct 2003
~~~~~~~
Clinton the Democratic advisor
To a Yale student’s pessimistic query of how to battle what he perceived as a right-leaning uncritical media and the Republican dominance of the federal government, Clinton advised to fight against it.
"Instead of being bereft, go work for someone who wants to do something different and turn it around,"
the president said, pointing to the energy surrounding the presidential campaigns of Democrats Howard Dean and Gen. Wesley Clark.
