Month: February 2003

Some food for thought:

“Of course the people don’t want war. But after all, it’s the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it’s always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it’s a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger.” — Herman Goering at the Nuremberg trials

My thanks to Erik Wilson for passing that along. I just wish we lived in a time when that didn’t seem so applicable.

But still, score one for the opposition at least.

So, as I understand it, somebody who might be Osama bin Laden recorded a tape in which he briefly mentions Iraq, and therein lies our administration’s best evidence for going to war. Okaaaay.

Never mind that the voice on the tape, if it even is bin Laden’s, denounces Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi government. Never mind that bin Laden has repeatedly voiced his desire to see Arab states like Iraq overthrown by their people. Never mind that just about every other shred of evidence put forth by the administration has been unsubstantiated, open to interpretation, or outright lies. Never mind that common sense indicates that war isn’t our best or only option, and that, at the very least, we should wait to hear what the weapons inspectors have to say before we dismiss their findings (and, by extension, the United Nations) as irrelevant.

Never mind all of that. This here’s the man what almost killed Georgie’s Pa. We’re a’goin’ ta war.

Update: From Yahoo News —

Fleischer dismissed critics who’ve noted the bin Laden voice backs the Iraqi people, not Saddam Hussein. “The world cannot afford to be in denial,” Fleischer said.

Denial? These critics have simply been citing the text of the tape, where the speaker (purporting to be Osama bin Laden) says exactly that. But this sort of rhetoric has become commonplace for the administration. Rather than respond to criticism, Bush and those around him dismiss it out-of-hand. I think it’s possible to take the threat of terrorism very seriously and still think war is not our best option. The administration doesn’t agree, and so they’ve closed their ears to anyone who tries to tell them that they’re wrong.

snow n.: Frozen precipitation in the form of white or translucent hexagonal ice crystals that fall in soft, white flakes.

Amazing that something so simple could piss me off so much. I am absolutely sick of winter.