"true Libertie is lost"
posted by k
Sometimes it would be better to be wrong.
Suppose the invasion of Iraq had found weapons of mass destruction. Suppose the country had morphed swiftly into a happy and prosperous democracy. Suppose invasion really had led to an extension of freedom in the Middle East. Just suppose ...
If that had happened, I and many others would be wondering why we marched against war in February 2003. We would ask if children dead and maimed by bombs was a worthwhile step to peace.
When we spoke of fears for people in Iraq, the region and the world, we were called "doom-mongers", fools and cowards. Uncertain next the to grand certainties of government, we wondered if our critics might be right. The two million who marched were not naive nor triumphal at the turn-out but were mostly thoughtful and concerned.
As we listened to each other, those in power had already decided. They were wrong.
Now headlines tell us of more evil than we feared. Torture is worse in Iraq than under Saddam. Deaths of U.S. troops alone (no-one manages to count Iraqi civilian dead) are twice the total of those killed on 9/11. The region is in chaos and its horrors (Fallujah, Abu Ghraib ...) are tipping many into terrorism.
What more could we have done?
How could we have recognized the many lies by which the British parliament was duped into sanctioning mass murder? And how can any of us, singly or together, halt the horrors yet to come?
Sometimes it would be better to be wrong.
Suppose the invasion of Iraq had found weapons of mass destruction. Suppose the country had morphed swiftly into a happy and prosperous democracy. Suppose invasion really had led to an extension of freedom in the Middle East. Just suppose ...
If that had happened, I and many others would be wondering why we marched against war in February 2003. We would ask if children dead and maimed by bombs was a worthwhile step to peace.
When we spoke of fears for people in Iraq, the region and the world, we were called "doom-mongers", fools and cowards. Uncertain next the to grand certainties of government, we wondered if our critics might be right. The two million who marched were not naive nor triumphal at the turn-out but were mostly thoughtful and concerned.
As we listened to each other, those in power had already decided. They were wrong.
Now headlines tell us of more evil than we feared. Torture is worse in Iraq than under Saddam. Deaths of U.S. troops alone (no-one manages to count Iraqi civilian dead) are twice the total of those killed on 9/11. The region is in chaos and its horrors (Fallujah, Abu Ghraib ...) are tipping many into terrorism.
What more could we have done?
How could we have recognized the many lies by which the British parliament was duped into sanctioning mass murder? And how can any of us, singly or together, halt the horrors yet to come?
posted by areopagitica at 12:17 pm
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