I know, that sounds mean. I should care more. It just pisses me off to hear the way the American troop withdrawal from Iraq is being presented ... at least in Norwegian media. This is a quote from the front page of Aftenposten, our third biggest newspaper (and by far a more serious and reliable paper than the two bigger ones), on Sunday. (My translation.)
TENSE BEFORE US EXIT
In Iraq, the Americans will disappear from the streets in two days. The people fear a new spiral of violence. 150 people have been killed in the past week. Who will prevent Sunnis and Shia Muslims killing each other?
WTF??
Who will prevent Muslims killing each other?? That's obvious - Muslims!! If Sunnis don't kill Shias, then Shias won't be killed by Sunnis. If Shias don't kill Sunnis, then Sunnis won't be killed by Shias. It really is that fucking simple. YES, I know that the US are so responsible for screwing everything up, and there's a history going back decades of complications and exploitation ... but seriously, when push comes to shove, it is that simple. Who will prevent me from killing you, dear reader? I will. Yes, there are laws against killing, but laws are just words on paper. I will be what stops you from being killed by me. It's my decision.
Sure, it's a complicated situation, and the Iraqi people have really had a hell of a time the past six years. But if they genuinely care more about feuding and killing over bronze age myths and irrational delusions about imaginary friends in the sky than they do about working together to create a functional society for themselves, then I'm sorry to say that my sympathy for their plight is limited.
Want the killing to stop? Then stop killing.
I just had to say it.
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19 hours ago
3 comments:
Jeg håper det er greit at jeg bryter mitt løfte fra i fjor?! Men jeg bare måtte ta med et herlig sitat fra Star Trek.
Altså over til kaptein Kirk som prøver å få slutt på en krig som har vart noen århundrer: - All, right - it's instinctive. But the instinct can be fought. We're human beings, with the blood of a million savage years on our hands. But we can stop it! We can admit we're killers, but we're not going to kill today. That's all it takes. Knowing that you're not going to kill... today!
I have not killed today and I may not kill tomorrow, I have not decided!
I have always thought that the arguments put forward were childish more than us being natural born killers.
good post
There's some truth to what you're saying, but unfortunately that holds true only for established societies. Iraqi is anything but an established society at this point in time. The internal power struggle would be inevitable, if not managed properly. Then there are ethnicity issues, they're not all the same in Iraq after all. The delicate and fragile balance of the power (however, a dictatorship) has been upset by the US invasion. Now, this is not to say US shouldn't move out of Iraq. Personally, I would have liked them gone yesterday, but the trouble is, if that society is left abruptly and unmanaged, it would mean an un-wanted, unnecessary chaos in the country. If US must leave, they should leave the country to the true representatives of the country, and until that happens it must be managed well.
What could be worse than having been plundered by foreign troops at their will, and then leaving to in feeble position to be plundered by the local bullies. The common man on the street suffered but the same fate. For them , one the masters were changed.
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