By the Numbers

Ask the Iraqis to put a price on their liberation...

Ask the Iraqis if they would rather have $600,000,000 or the ability to freely speak their minds without "disappearing" into Uday's private prison.

Here's another number for you: 400

That's the number of mass graves uncovered so far in Iraq.

Here's another number for you: 35,000

That's the number of innocent people who died, including children when Saddam deployed chemical weapons on his own people.

Here's another number: 2500

That's the number of innocent Kuwaiti citizens killed or taken prisoner when Saddam invaded that soverign country without warning.

Get the fucking picture? Now get off your high horse and step down into reality...

Yes, and how many thousands of innocent people, including children, died when George Bush unleashed bombs on Sadam's people? And how much better is it that they folks are "disappearing" into American prisons than Uday's?

Bankrupting America to kill foreigners under on false pretext, and weakening the U.S. defenses to do it. Welcome to reality.

Hey Craig,
Thanks man! Thanks to you and your country for taking on the responsibility of ridding the world of all killers like Saddam Hussain, even if you do it by killing 20-50000 civilians. Who cares about the means when the ends are good and justified and sanctioned by God himself.

Thanks also for turning the rationale for the war into "democracy-building" from "WMDs" and "removing evil dictators". Now we know that the country we should all bow down to in grateful supplication is on the right track. Now we can all look forward to the US restoring democracies in Sudan, Iran, North Korea, and Pakistan as well, right? We are eagerly waiting for that day, Craig.

And in passing here's another number - 1. That's right. We all want you personally to make one trip to Iraq and personally experience the safety and happiness of the people there. That should not be a problem now that your Vice President has personally said that the Iraq operation has been a rousing success and people are practically living in pretty houses lined with picket fences...go on Craig, you wonderful vanguard of liberation and freedom!

Gee, think of the world we would be living in now if the World War II generation would have been afraid to take on the task of ridding the world of Hitler and Mussolini. Civilians die in war and they die in peace. They're deaths are never easy to accept but the Iraqi's proved Craig's point when they turned out to vote. I find it ironic that people like you can decide that it's okay for some people to enjoy freedom, but only if it doesn't get messy.

Ahh...Craig. That was good. More numbers. I am glad that America has taken up the responsibility of uncovering all the mass graves in all parts of the world, and righting all wrongs done to the poor and downtrodden. I am confident now that they will soon go to Darfur and save the people from being butchered by the Jamzaweed. Of course, the fact that the USA will save the people of North Korea goes without saying. Thanks Craig. I eagerly look forward to these interventions by the Great White Hope! Oh, I almost forgot. Isn't the USA going to free the Saudi women as well?

I could go on. The point is, unfortunately for all of us Craig, not whether the Iraqis were happy under Saddam. They might not have been, but they were in their own country, not ruled by the USA. The point also is the selective targeting by the US of a country when there are far worse regimes existant in the world. This gives rise to all the speculation about wartime profits the interest in oil, later borne out by the various non competitive bids given to companies like Halliburton.

I am not on the high horse Craig. You are, because you imagine yourself to be some knight in shining armor saving oppressed Iraqis when even the most limited intelligence can figure out the real reasons for war. Know what? You are also a romantic sucker, because the reality is that Iraqis of all kinds hate you and want you out of the country. I would not have even responded to your post if I did not feel a moral duty (how American of me, eh?) to point out to you that you've been had by your own government. Cheers and have a drink on me in the fool's paradise you live in!

I can tell you really stand by your principles when you don't even have the courage to post your name to stand behind your remarks. Moreover, I feel sorry for you that you have such a pessimistic view of the world and consequently, America's role in it. And to assert that the Iraqi's may not have been happy under Saddam, but at least they were living in their own country without the burden of an occupying force illustrates how truly clueless you are. First of all, a people being happy in their own country is important, but don't kid yourself that they were enjoying life in a sovereign, free nation. They were not. And you really don't know what's going on if you think there are more Iraqis that hate us than like us. Just ask any of the brave soldiers that are over there helping them. Maybe if you took the time to truly inform yourself you wouldn't be so negative. It seems that in your worldview, any time the US takes the responsibility to stand up for people who can't fight for themselves, we're just doing it to be meddlesome or some ulterior motive. Your argument is flawed when you consider that there were no oilfields to gain by liberating the concentration camps. But those prisoners were probably happy too right? I mean they climbed on those trains willingly...Go back and study history.

First, the anonymity in the previous post wasn't deliberate but a mistake. I do stand by my principles and I wish the USA also would.

And I don't need to "study" history to know that the ONLY reason the US entered the 2nd World War was because of Pearl Harbor, when they didn't have a choice. The concentration camps had been in play for many years till then, but the US didn't seem overly concerned, now did it?

Melissa's comment is typically sophistic when she brings out the topic of the "brave soldiers". Rumsfield does the same whenever someone brings up any uncomfortable topic about the causes of war. The bravery of soldiers has nothing to do with the rationale for war, which kept changing according what suited Carl Rove and George W. Bush best at particular points in time. Regardless of what the "brave soldiers" are doing, they are hated and I probably know this better than you Melissa because I bother to read more sources of independent news (at least 8 sites every day from various parts of the world) than youíre likely to do. Fox News is not the be-all and end-all source of information.

Ultimately, Melissa's argument boils down to "We had to kill Iraqis to save Iraqis". This is reprehensible, and reminiscent of the rationale for the Mai Lai massacre and the use of napalm in Vietnam. You are fond of asking people to remember history, Melissa; so why don't you remember this?

The fact is that the USA, under current regime, is very close to an authoritarian, politically blood-thirsty nation, dealing in weapons and war for economic reasons, and showing little care for International environmental or human rights protocols (read Kyoto, the torture justification memo, and spiriting people away to countries like Syria to torture them). The motives don't matter if the means are unjustifiable.

The saddest part for all of us, who like most of the US people and much of your culture, is the realization of how the mighty have fallen--from the greatness and idealism of JFK to the obfuscations, mendacity, and vindictiveness of of your country under George W. Bush!

This is probably off the subject but what needs reconstructing. $600,000,000 for what. I didn't know we destroyed their TV stations. As for all the other comments, I was wondering when the U.S.A. was going to give the Native Americans back their land and give restituion to African-American.

The home of the free. 2% of the population is incarcerated and 3/4 of then non-violent drug offenders. Free to do what, go to Diesny Land, my ass. This country is full of f!@#ing tightly wound assholes. There is a law for everything. And everytime something awful happens to someone you know that not too long after their wife, mother, whatever, will be screaming there ought to be a law.