recommended reading

When I was doing a little on-line research this afternoon, I ran into a really great blog via blogcritics.org. Alphaliberal is an exceptionally smart political blog that I have posted a regular blog link to and I suggest that you check it out.

Anyway, this particular column is about the outrageously overused comparison and analogy between Iraq and WWII. I have only included an exerpt of the post because it is long, but, if you have the time, I highly recommend you read the whole thing.

In World War II, there was a very real struggle against an alliance of world powers who wanted to conquer the world and were in the process of doing so.One of those powers attacked us and the others declared war on us. Iraq was a nuisance and an anathema, but Saddam Hussein neither attacked us, nor was capable of attacking even his neighbors at the time the Iraq war was launched.

Before the Iraq war, Rice, Cheney, Bush, and the rest of their cabal, invoked impending mushroom clouds over the US "rhineland / heartland" caused by Saddam Hussein and secret uranium deals from Niger purporting to show how Saddam's nuclear ambitions were a clear and present danger to the United States --all provably false.

It is not in the American tradition to invade a sovereign nation pre-emptively. Anyone who studies history knows what a disaster such a doctrine has universally been for every country that has invoked it, from Hitler, to Musollini, to the Roman empire, to Napoleon. Even without studying history, just look at where we are in Iraq, and why Bush and his cronies claimed we needed to be there, and the cost that is being borne on the American citizen, and that should be enough of a history lesson for anyone with a rational mind to reject Bush's analogy and his weak defense of his indefensible doctrine.

p.s. On a totally different topic, if you've read anything about the supposed low-ratings and "scandal" at Air America, this other Alphaliberal post should make you feel a bit better.