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03/19/2003 Archived Entry: "Blitzkrieg Iraq"

WAR. It's surreal thinking that as early as this evening U.S. forces could be pounding the hell out of Iraq -- a nation whose leader is a creep (and what else is new in this too-human world?), but which otherwise shows no sign of intending any harm to our country. I think of Stalin, the ultimate cynic, who said, "A single death is a tragedy. A million deaths is a statistic." Politicians, Bush and Stalin alike, know that when we hear of mass deaths, we'll forget to empathize with the very individual pain and terror each victim felt. And with our new high-tech war, Bush is counting on us watching the selected clips on TV and simply being proud of our killing power, as Germans were no doubt proud of Blitzkrieg.

It would be a blessing if every vicious dictator were overthrown -- and a vastly greater blessing if we could overthrow the subservient mindset that makes us crave "great leaders" in the first place. But if it's America's job (and not the job of well-armed locals) to depose politicians simply because they're vicious, corrupt, murdering bastards, then why aren't U.S. troops amassed on the borders of about half the countries in Africa? Surely Mr. Mugabe of Zimbabwe is no prize. And how about Asia? Mr. Kim Jong Il by all reports runs a sadistic fantasy state that makes Iraq look like a haven of human rights and sanity by comparison (and has threatened to lob nukes at us, besides).

Mr. Bush, if your aim is really to liberate the oppressed, regardless of the amount of oil under their feet or the strategic locations of their countries, you've got a big job ahead of you.

Posted by Claire @ 09:25 AM CST
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