micah holmquist's irregular thoughts and links |
|
Welcome to the musings and notes of a Cadillac, Michigan based writer named Micah Holmquist, who is bothered by his own sarcasm. Please send him email at micahth@chartermi.net. Holmquist's full archives are listed here.
Archives
Sites Holmquist trys, and often fails, to go no more than a couple of days without visiting (some of which Holmquist regularly swipes links from without attribution) Aljazeera.Net English Blogs that for one reason or another Holmquist would like to read on at least something of a regular basis (always in development) Thivai Abhor |
Tuesday, March 02, 2004
The Bush Administration should no longer be allowed to claim "freedom" as a justification for invading Iraq Besides announcing that the "Patriot Act made... important changes official to the success of this new department," Bush marked the first anniversary of the Homeland Security Department by reiterating his usual tired list of pseudo-accomplishments, including: It is vital our nation speak with a clear voice, and when we speak, we mean what we say. It's essential that this nation not be a nation of empty words, but a nation that is determined to do our duty. I laid out a doctrine a while ago, and it said if you harbor a terrorist, if you feed a terrorist, you're just as guilty as the terrorists. I meant what I said. And so did our nation. And the Taliban, the brutal dictators, the barbarians that ran Afghanistan now fully understand America will keep its commitments and means what it says.That's funny beyond the need to refute. And: We delivered an ultimatum to Mr. Saddam Hussein, that he listen to the world, disclose and disarm his weapons and weapons programs. It's what the world had said time and time again. The United States said the same thing. We saw a threat. It was time to deal with that threat Mr. Saddam Hussein had the choice to make. He chose defiance. He now sits in a prison cell, and the Iraqi people are free and America is more secure.Yes, the U.S. is more secure against the threat coming from weapons of mass destruction that appear to have not existed since 1994. Thanks George! That Iraqis, or at least many Iraqis, enjoy greater freedom is indeed a positive benefit of the invasion and occupation, but unless Bush wants to argue that the Iraqis are more deserving of freedom than other groups of people, it rings hollow as an argument for the invasion. If the U.S. didn't support repressive regimes, there would be a case for saying the U.S. can not "liberate" everybody in need of "liberation," but that it should still do what it can and that Iraq was as good of a place as any. However, in the real world, that doesn't wash. And, as what's happened recently in Haiti shows, Bush and friends aren't even bothering to try and make it look like they care about democracy and strawberry shortcake. Currently in that country, you have Guy Philippe declaring himself to be "chief of the military and police" and telling the AP he will arrest Haiti's prime minister. And, because all that wasn't nearly enough, Baby Doc wants to return. "I think the plan is to reconstitute the Haitian army and continue to massacre the people who support democracy, the people who have been craving education, basic healthcare, clean water, and food, most importantly, the children who are dying of malnutrition," Eugenia Charles-Mathurin of the Haiti Reborn project said today about the rebels' plans. All of which is apparently fine with the U.S. since it gets rid of a disliked leader. The Bush Administration could not care less about freedom. They care about using "freedom" as a rhetorical device to justify their desire to dominate the world. Happy Freedom! |