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The latest revelations of lawbreaking, torture and extremism
With each day that we acquiesce to the Bush administration's radicalism, the more it defines the national character of our country.
Glenn Greenwald [2007-10-04]

  • Our culture of accepting torture isn't just inside the "Village". It's also outside the beltway.

    http://highclearing.com/index.php/archives/2007/09/22/7191

    September 22, 2007
    The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our attackers but ourselves
    By Thoreau

    In response to my previous post, a commenter wrote that his sympathies are not with Iran. I was about to reply that I have a great deal of sympathy for the Iranians, because if George Bush drops bombs on them their oppressive government will be strengthened.

    But then I realized that the same could be said about us: That when Bin Laden’s hijackers attacked us they strengthened the hand of the Bush junta, so we should be pitied for that fact. But that’s ridiculous. It’s our own damn fault for rallying behind people who instituted torture, warrantless wiretaps, detention without trial, and a war of aggression.

    We can’t blame Bin Laden.

    We’re(*) the people who responded to his attack by rallying behind a gang of thugs. We didn’t have to. But we did. We could have insisted on a different path, a path that would have actually done more to defend America while preserving our liberties. But we didn’t.

    So if the Iranians become more nationalist as a result of a US attack, and if the opposition groups become weaker, is it their own damn fault?

    I want to say it will be our fault, because I am staunchly opposed to attacking Iran, but how they respond is their responsibility. We Americans have no right to say “Bin Laden made me do it!”, so should Iranians who choose nationalism over the opposition be allowed to say “Bush made me do it!”?

    Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still sympathize with any Iranian who loses a loved one to Bush. But can I blame Bush for whatever happens next in Iran?

    (*)Yes, I’m aware that not all of us rallied behind these thugs, so consider “we” as a shorthand for “a significant fraction of the US population.” I’m a lazy typist, as a matter of principal.

    - - Posted by Thoreau @ 6:22 pm, September 22, 2007
    http://highclearing.com/index.php/archives/2007/09/22/7191

    -- sysprog
    [Read sysprog's other letters]
    Thursday, October 4, 2007 02:55 PM
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