Dec
31
(2006)
I had a long post written up about the execution of Saddam Hussein. I decided at the last minute to not click the “Submit” button. But, my friend Niran wrote up an eloquent post that says it much more clearly.
One thing I’d add is this: I’m truly curious about the proportion of the American population that think Saddam was executed as part of the War on Terror™, or to grant democracy in Iraq. His execution had nothing to do with either (no WMDs have ever been found, and execution by a foreign power - even through a fledgling local puppet government - is no way to instill democracy).
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11 Responses to “Death of a Dictator”
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D’Arcy-
Operative word in you post is “think”
A majority of the American population has lost that art-
we no longer question- we believe in sound-byte politics, with our offices going to the highest bidder (we spent over 2 billion on the last election).
The majority of Americans no longer believe that we belong in Iraq.
They don’t know what democracy means- here or there.
As to who has killed more people- Bush is the leader by far.
Hopefully- the newly elected democrats will change our direction in Iraq. But, the damage has been done, and will take centuries to undo- or more.
operative word is definitely think. ensure you’re ingesting more than just left-wing media and that you’re not just parroting their mantras before you use words like puppet without irony. choir-preaching causes the divisiveness endangering us; nobody will admit the other side could have a point long enough to really listen to it. kudos to Niran, who at least cited some numbers and sources to back up his opinions.
d - you’re right. I wasn’t thinking as clearly as I should have, and I shouldn’t have posted what I did in the way I did. the 24/7 coverage of the event just got me riled up, and I posted without thinking about balancing what I was thinking. I wasn’t trying to feed the echo chamber or preach to a choir - just thinking out loud and honestly wondering about the perception of things south of the border. also, I realize that disclaiming the post as “just thinking out loud” doesn’t cut it. It was a lame, silly thing to write. I should have put more thought into it, and kept it to myself until I had something meaningful to contribute rather than just venting.
I actually don’t ingest much left-wing media. Well, at least I’d like to think that CBC Newsworld is at least approaching a balance. If anything, being in Calgary, I would bet that my media exposure is leaning toward the Right. Maybe that’s why I reacted the way I did? No excuse.
thanks (again) for keeping me honest.
I think it is overgeneralizing to say that thinking is a lost art among the majority of Americans. I can’t tell you the number of people I have talked to who are interested in politics, but feel unable to discern between the various smokescreens of information and disinformation that are constantly before them.
I think it would be more accurate to say that the political parties and politicians in general have become very good at playing with our perceptions so that we, as constituents can’t make easy choices as to what, and who will best represent us.
I also think, in answer to the original question, that the execution of Saddam is nothing more than history.
Hey D’Arcy. Vent if you like. It’s your blog, your soapbox. Personally, I’m against the death penalty for anyone. It hasn’t been shown to reduce crime rates and in cases like these, it can create martyrs who are more powerful than their human incarnation. Remember “strike me down and I will become more powerful than you can imagine”? Obi Wan knew what he was saying.
Allan, thanks. There’s a difference between venting and publishing, though. I should leave my venting offline. Rants are OK though
Murder.
Not: “Death”.
The funny thing too is that America is the one who armed Saddam during the 80s as they wanted to stir up nonsense with them and iran for a 8 year war.
Yes i mean the USA obviously fought the Iraq war on there own being all mighty and all, Oh wait, Like hell you did without us British you would of gotten NO WHERE yet you guys seem to claim your doing all the work on your own, Guess what we lose people in Iraq and Afganistan fighting in this so called war of terror just as you do. I’m so sick of americans thinking they are some form of gods gift to this world.
Optimist, I’m unsure if you’re a troll or a spammer trying to get whitelisted, or a genuine commenter. On the off chance that you’re a real person with a real comment, I’ll respond.
I’m not American. Never have been. I have many American friends though. I am Canadian, and for the most part, damned proud of it. This post was not written with even the tiniest bit of anti-American sentiment (or anti-Iraqi, or anti-Afghan, or pro-American, etc…) It was written purely out of curiosity. What proportion of the population still believe the war in Iraq is about antiterrorism, and what proportion believe it’s about oil and energy security?
IMO, it looks like on the surface that anti-terrorism war going on, but many of them believe [shall I say most?] that it’s about taking the oil nations in the stride by Bush government. I am just curious what would be the stance taken by Mrs. Clinton or Obama.