I have to explain the following post. I am in the middle of a discussion with one of my readers on the several topics, but mostly on the war, the death of Zarqawi, and whether military officers can disobey orders from their superiors. I had not planned a long response, but given its length, I felt it better to post the message.
In the last reply, rd was quoting Mark Twain in debating rights and wrongs. His reply can be found in the first message, here. And thus my reply.
You quote Mark Twain at length. He was right on several counts for the wrong reasons. For example, we did not hunt down the Indians and needlessly slaughter them, and yet by just coming over here, the Europeans brought disease, brought technology, brought a cultural shift, all of which decimated the Indians and their way of life. All big decisions are thus. So should we stop making big decisions?
We are all different. The Europeans were ethnocentric. The Indians were focused on nature in a druid like existence. The way we differed over life and land ownership made conflict with the Indians a foregone conclusion.
Many people call the US a lumbering giant. We often times do not know our own strength and our influence. Many times we do not consider the results of our actions. It is said that every time the US sneezes, Mexico catches a cold. Such is our strength. So what do we do?
When a disaster occurs anywhere in the world, one of the first countries to act is the US. When Somalis were dying, who sent aid? When earthquakes strike anywhere in the world, who acts? We do. When we were attacked, who can we turn to? As the world’s only superpower, we can only count on ourselves. There are many aspects of this war that are not pretty. People die in war, people with wives and children, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters. It is a fact of war. In war, there is good and evil. Sometimes there are both. So what do we do?
In a hundred years, who will care whether or not we killed Zarqawi? Our children and our grandchildren will care. History will judge the United States of America by its actions today in the Global War on Terrorism. Our actions, or failure to take action, may make the difference tomorrow whether our grandchildren fight that war in the future. And while some are sitting around trying to decide whether it is ethical to involve themselves in this war, others are fighting and dying for our very right to live. We could sit around for an entire decade debating the existence of right and wrong, good and evil and whether of not we should involve ourselves. Not every decision has good and evil characteristics. The killing of Zarqawi was good. Just the thought of him looking up from his gurney and seeing our special forces surrounding him brings a smile to my face. If you ask the family of Nick Berg if the killing of Zarqawi was good, they would most likely say, YES! Zarqawi was evil. We do not have the time or the luxury of debating buts…
In my view, there is no but…. Zarqawi is dead, yeah! Will he be replaced, yes. Will it be easy to replace him, no. If you will notice, all of this discussion is pure semantics. The fact still remains that one part of evil has been destroyed and that is good.
Update:
Okay, I was wrong about Nick Berg’s family. Michael Berg, Nick’s father, says he is sorry whenever anyone dies as seen here.
I would not be as understanding. For anyone who kills someone in my family, they are living on borrowed time.
Thanks to reader: kd
Update 2:
It seems some of the more liberal members of the Democratic party in the House of Representatives are denouncing the death of Zarqawi as a political stunt. If I had read this on the Huffington Post or from some of the Kos crowd, I would understand. But this came from a sitting member of Congress. These people are out there.
Some Democrats, breaking ranks from their leadership, today said the death of terrorist leader Abu Musab Zarqawi in Iraq was a stunt to divert attention from an unpopular and hopeless war.
“This is just to cover Bush’s [rear] so he doesn’t have to answer” for Iraqi civilians being killed by the U.S. military and his own sagging poll numbers, said Rep. Pete Stark, California Democrat. “Iraq is still a mess — get out.”
Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich, Ohio Democrat, said Zarqawi was a small part of “a growing anti-American insurgency” and that it’s time to get out.
“We’re there for all the wrong reasons,” Mr. Kucinich said.
It is hard to believe that these moonbats keep getting elected.
Hat tip: The Hedgehog Report
Tags: History, Heroes, Moonbats, Culture, Politics, Iraq, War by Chuck
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