It seems like all I’ve been hearing about from the anti-war people is that we are not giving the iraqis freedom by killing their civilians.
I just wanted to hear from some of yall on what price you think freedom from a corrupt dictatorship is?
I always thought that the price of freedom is the risk of death that everyone involved(civies, soldiers, etc.) has to pay.
I stopped worrying about what was fair a long time ago. Freedom hurts. Its painful. Its no fun, except for all the alternatives. But I’m not sure the Iraqis will be free within the living future unless someone does something.
God never promised us an easy time, did he. Some days I wonder why the fight has to be so hard.
Who defines what a “corrupt dictatorship” is? I mean, you could make an argument that the United States is one right now, what with rigged elections, Republican control of the three branches of government, The Patriot Act, state-controlled news outlets, yadda yadda yadda.
Who’s got the authority to make the judgement on what governments ought to be overthrown (“regime change”), and which ones get spared?
Rigged Elections: We have an oversupply of stupid people in Florida, and elections are suddenly “rigged”…?
Republicans in control of all branches of government: Damn! I thought MTV’s “Rock the Vote” would have taken care of that by now!
Patriot Act: Brought to you by your friends at Al Qaeda. Remember who REALLY took away your freedoms!
State Controlled News Outlets: NPR?
Maybe you outta try living under a Saddam-type dictatorship for a couple of months/years and then you can make the judgement for yourself after trying it out first hand.
I think that when a person can live in a place like Iraq, buy a Subaru Outback, and put i.e. a “Impeach Saddam” sticker on it, and not end up in prison, we (yes, the good guys) leave that government alone.
Well, you may feel that way…But, the question is whether or not the Iraqi civilians feel that way (and I don’t honestly know the answer to this, by the way). I.e., if they would prefer to live under repression than to gain freedom if it costs a lot of lives then who are we to tell them otherwise? Or should we force them to be free? [This leaves aside the issue of whether they are going to really have freedom once Saddam is gone … Time will tell.]
Heh! End up in prison? I’d lay odds that if any Iraqi now got away with just prison, they’d be overjoyed.
I like the way the Regime drafts and trains young men into the army now. “Here’s a rifle. Go over there and shoot americans or we will shoot your family! BTW Allah is Great.”
The price of freedom is paid for by choice of the people being freed.
Killing people and telling them it’s ‘for their own good’ smacks of something a little less than ‘freedom’.
If you think that the end of Saddam= freedom for the Iraqi people, I think you are being overly optimistic. First of all, will women in Iraq be granted the right to vote in a post-Saddam era? Will non-Muslims be granted complete freedom of religion? Will the rights of ethnic minorities like the Kurds be protected? Will the US abide by election results if they favor a fundamentalist Islamic candidate over a secular one? Not being clairvoyant, I don’t know, but I am guessing that the answer to at least some of these questions will be a resounding NO. JMHO
Does “by choice” include those facing Saddam’s 125mm tank cannons. I think they have made their choice by dancing in the streets, hugging Americans and gathering around our troops for food. The relief is reflected in their faces. The closer we get to crushing Saddam the happier they are.
And then again, it may be a resounding YES. Don’t forget to give equal weight to both sides.
Well, there’s also the little matter of thousands of registered voters being turned away from the polls because their name sounded too much like a felon’s name.
What, Osama is a Congressman? Don’t blame the attacks for the bad laws our government passed in response to them.
When I had jury duty, there was a single sign on the inside of the deliberation room that read:
“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.
–Anonymous”
This saying always kind of stuck with me since it had seemed so applicable to American democracy. Freedom isn’t free–free societies must remain vigilant in order to stay free.
In America, now, our vigilance is gone. The media is “in bed” with the military that they are covering and refuse to ask the tough questions. In the lead up of the war, few people challenged the administration’s assertion that Iraq/Saddam were involved in 9/11. Those who criticized the administration were “aiding and abetting” the enemy in the immortal words of John Ashcroft.
I, as a Mid-Easterner, am afraid to speak out against Bush or current American policy because I am sure I would get my ass kicked by these rednecks who live near me with signs that say “Bomb Saddam” and “Attack Iraq” on their front lawns. An American member of my Christian church was killed in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks because he was an Arab (which is incorrect–he was a Copt. Sikhs were also attacked.).
Are we really free when citizens are afraid to speak out against the administration; when ignorance is being spread like a virus and no one in the media bothers to expose Bush’s obviously fallacious arguments for what they are?