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…Let Slip the Dogs of War

Published by marco on

The U.S. started bombing Afghanistan yesterday. Seems we’re bombing someone new every couple of years or so. How surgical are the attacks? This is the same military that had to cheat on other ‘surgical strike’ tests…and still failed them. The same military that claimed surgical attacks in the Gulf War…and admitted later they lied and had killed about 200,000 people, many of them civilians. What kind of military installations are being targeted? I thought most places in Afghanistan didn’t even have electricity.

As soon as the night’s bombing runs are complete, we send in planes to drop food and medical supplies. This is pretty surreal. Living in NYC, I’m just hoping the backlash isn’t immediate.

Ars Technica has a good discussion on the topic. They discuss whether we are right in doing this (where’s the evidence? … why can’t we see it? Reassure us.), reasons for terrorism (how can anyone hate the U.S.?), mixing religion and politics (stop saying God is on our side, Bush). There’s both hawks and doves and plenty of people who’ve thought a bit about the matter.

Comments

#1

marco

The “It’s worth the price” Madeleine Albright quote was mentioned to me the other day, and I found a good list of quotes attributed to her at an AOL member page, of all places. The search for that page turned up this other one on the NY Press site by Alexander Cockburn.

<q>‘We have heard that half a million children have died,’ [Lesley] Stahl said. ‘I mean, that’s more children than died in Hiroshima. And you know, is the price worth it?’ … ‘I think this is a very hard choice,’ Albright answered, ‘but the price–we think the price is worth it.’ They read that exchange in the Middle East. It was infamous all over the Arab world. I’ll bet the Sept. 11 kamikazes knew it well enough, just as they could tell you the crimes wrought against the Palestinians. So would it be unfair today to take Madeleine Albright down to the ruins of the Trade Towers, remind her of that exchange and point out that the price turned out to include that awful mortuary as well? Was that price worth it too, Mrs. Albright?</q>