Thinking as a Hobby 3476953 Curiosities served |
2003-01-21 12:36 PM Hitchens to the Peaceniks Previous Entry :: Next Entry Read/Post Comments (14) Here's pure Hitchens, addressing the anti-war bunch, specifically in Seattle, but it extends to all.
On September 11th: Now hear this. Ever since that morning, the United States has been at war with the forces of reaction. May I please entreat you to reread the preceding sentence? Or perhaps you will let me restate it for emphasis. The government and people of these United States are now at war with the forces of reaction. On the war in Afghanistan: A year or so ago, the "peace movement" was saying that Afghanistan could not even be approached without risking the undying enmity of the Muslim world; that the Taliban could not be bombed during Ramadan; that a humanitarian disaster would occur if the Islamic ultra- fanatics were confronted in their own lairs. Now we have an imperfect but recovering Afghanistan, with its population increased by almost two million returned refugees. Have you ever seen or heard any of those smart-ass critics and cynics make a self-criticism? Or recant? On the infamous, half-baked "No Blood For Oil" slogan: Have you, or your friends, recently employed the slogan "No War for Oil"? If so, did you listen to what you were saying? Do you mean that oil isn't worth fighting for, or that oil resources aren't worth protecting? Do you recall that Saddam Hussein ignited the oilfields of Kuwait when he was in retreat, and flooded the local waterways with fire and pollution? (Should I patronize the potluckistas, and ask them to look up the pictures of poisoned birds and marine animals from that year?) Are you indifferent to the possibility that such a man might be able to irradiate the oilfields next time? OF COURSE it's about oil, stupid. Again, I may not agree with everything that Hitchens says. And yes he's a bit too intellectually preening. And yes he intentionally courts controversy. But dammit, at least the man has the intellectual courage to say what he really thinks, many times he's right on the money, and even when he's not he's still an interesting read. Read/Post Comments (14) Previous Entry :: Next Entry Back to Top |
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