My theory is that progressives of the time, in the US and elsewhere, were so enthralled by the success of the revolution, that they turned a blind eye to its failures. There was a willfull blindness, willed by devotion to the cause.

It seems to me that the same blindness effects the anti-war movement of today in Iraq.

We see there is horrible bloodshed, oppression and torture in Iraq, and we essentially ignore it. Oh, there's a tip of the hat, but no outrage. We are willfully blind because of our devotion to a greater cause -- destroying the imperialist capitalist regime of the US.

I think this is a dangerous trend -- forgiving the worst excesses of tyrants to further a cause.