Judy: 1. we all know about Saddam, it should not be necessary
for posters here concerned about current violence in Iraq to add
a disclaimer to every post saying they are aware of Saddam's mass
murders.
2. and that has been said before here...
3. your reply to Andy is cheap
Eric: On the contrary, it should be necessary to consider the
entire context of the current violence in Iraq, and that includes
the oppression from which the Iraqis have been freed, and the
oppression from which they seek to free themselves in future.
(And yes, that includes the occupation but is by no means limited
to it.)
Remember for example that this thread concerns febrile
handwringing about ALLEGED use of white phosphorus smoke devices,
ALLEGED use of napalm-like substance against military targets,
and utterly fantastic claims of the use of poison gas.
We all pity Iraqi noncombatants caught in the crossfire,
disfigured, burned, killed, wounded, and otherwise damaged. But
what is the context? They were slaughtered under Saddam. They
were slaughtered by their local militia leaders. They were tried
and slaughtered by al-Qaeda mobsters (was glad to read we bombed
the hell out of one of their jury-rigged courtrooms). Then a
small number were accidentally killed in ongoing combat, as
almost always happens in warfare. And from all this carnage to
single out US troops for vilification and outrage is as myopic as
it is hypocritical.
Add to that the insane claims about poison gas--the germ of this
thread--and you have a lynching of the least culpable, the poor
enlisted joes and janes.
Finally, you call my reply to Andy cheap, when Andy has accused
the US of genocide. Read his post. Or maybe you support his
genocide thesis?
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