An excellent and really classic piece of troll bait from the national review magazine...

http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-al-khoei022103.asp

some quotes : "from the point of view of those living in Iraq, the problem is clear and uncomplicated and requires no protracted debate as to what should be done. The real question is the rule and domination, for over three decades, of a cruel despot over a populace upon whom he has wreaked his wrath incessantly ... This is what the Iraqi people face.

The solution in their opinion is also clear, and comes down to one thing only: the urgent need to get rid of this despot and his cruel regime at the earliest opportunity and by any means. I emphasize, by any means.

There is little point to discussing the means and the method; the Iraqi people are not interested in who is to carry out this task — be it an individual or individuals, one outside force or a coalition of forces. They see the issue as being essentially one of ethics and humanity, and furthermore believe that the task of freeing them of this tyranny is an obligation enjoined by every sacred code of law."

Classic. Real typical for the National Review. Follow the link to read the rest of it and be powerfully swayed to split the left and join the right wing revolution (re : Christophet Hitchens, who read this stuff one time to many, one must suppose).

I say classic because it really encapsulates the hypocrisy of the right wing position. YOu know, they are invading Iraq just because they care that much. they have repented of their previous bad habits, which included, yes, you guessed it, right wing involvement in the installation of Saddam in the first place (the Ba'ath party was a CIA asset, just like the Taliban and Bin Laden were) and of course we know that the United States far right wing blocked a United Nations resolution condemning the use of poison gas by Saddam in the Iran Iraq war. Well the list goes on, but fortunately the far right wing has repented and now they are not going to do it anymore, but rather are now, just out of the charity of their hearts mind you, going to spend a vast fortune, perhaps as much as 80 billion dollars just to save the poor suffering Iraqi people from tyranny. That's touching and next year they can spend even 10 per cent as much to save the homeless and ruined in America. Maybe a small increase in the food stamps program, say, to help out those over burdened and struggling food banks. You know that 40 million people are about to die this spring in the IMF famine that covers the continent of Africa. They could have been saved for about 2 per cent of what those generous and good hearted hawks like those at the national review are about to spend on seizing control of middle east oil, but it didn't happen, and still isn't, and how fortunate that at the same time as these people die, the world will be kept quite distracted by Iraq. These people do NOTHING, THE FAR RIGHT DOES ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for altruistic reasons. Absolutely nothing. This crap above is just window dressing. Bring out some crying Iraqi crying for war and that's about the best they can do, because they have no morals that I have ever noticed, and thus have no moral case, and thus feed everyone with bullshit propaganda all the time, because, really what else can someone in that position do. Such bullshit can be compelling however, when the gross immorality and hypocrisy that hides beneath the surface is not exposed.

By the way the United Nations is also estimating 500,000 civilian casualties resulting from the conflict, and the next time someone cries for war you might want to thank them for their courage in volunteering to take a dive for the good of the nation, and everything. How patriotic. It would be far more than the right wing itself was ever prepared to do for Iraq, in particular the right wingers at the national review, who will be sharpening pencils and then going out for cocktails, while teen aged boys cause massive slaughter getting rid of some tyrant they themselves put in the first place, to further their own devious agenda of the moment, which no longer includes Saddam so he must go, because as I said, these people do NOTHING, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING out of altruistic motives. Those who doubt this, and believe they really are spending around 80 billion dollars because they just care so much for the 'tear jerking plea for help' uttered by some desperate 'Iraqi', might try giving them the tear jerking plea for help for the forty million starvation victims, who could be saved for one or two per cent of the cost of their war, and just see how quickly they melt into a sobbing puddle, and how quickly those checquebooks come out. And they just might do it, too, but not because saving suffering humanity is "essentially one of ethics and humanity", and "is an obligation enjoined by every sacred code of law,' but rather if, and only if, the famine victims will agree to piss oil and shit silver and gold until they can get back every dime ten or twenty times over. This famine is no different from any other, the appeals are always desperately underfunded and people drop like flies, the only difference this time being that will drop like flies unnoticed due to that conveniently timed threatened war with Iraq.



The Great IMF Famine of 2003

http://www.awitness.org/journal/starvation_myths.html