Little Green Footballs tips us to this exemplary illustration of what passes for moral discourse on the political left. Herewith some excerpts from a disturbing piece by Mike Whitney at Axis of Logic:
The greatest moral quandary of our day is whether we, as Americans, support the Iraqi insurgency. It's an issue that has caused anti-war Leftists the same pangs of conscience that many felt 30 years ago in their opposition to the Vietnam War. The specter of disloyalty weighs heavily on all of us, even those who've never been inclined to wave flags or champion the notion of American "Exceptionalism".
For myself, I can say without hesitation that I support the insurgency, and would do so even if my only 21 year old son was serving in Iraq. There's simply no other morally acceptable option.
At the same time we have to recognize that the disparate elements of Iraqi resistance, belittled in the media as the "insurgency", are the legitimate expression of Iraqi self-determination.
The only hope for an acceptable solution to the suffering of the Iraqi people is a US defeat and the subsequent withdrawal of troops. Regrettably, we're nowhere near that period yet.
Ultimately, the Bush administration bears the responsibility for the death of every American killed in Iraq just as if they had lined them up against a wall and shot them one by one. Their blood is on the administration's hands, not those of the Iraqi insurgency.
We should also ask ourselves what the long-range implications of an American victory in Iraq would be. Those who argue that we cannot leave Iraq in a state of chaos don't realize that stabilizing the situation on the ground is tantamount to an American victory and a vindication for the policies of aggression. This would be a bigger disaster than the invasion itself.
The Bush administration is fully prepared to carry on its campaign of global domination by force unless an unmovable object like the Iraqi insurgency blocks its way. Many suspect, that if it wasn't for the resistance, the US would be in Tehran and Damascus right now. This, I think, is a rational assumption. For this reason alone, antiwar advocates should carefully consider the implications of "so-called" humanitarian objectives designed to pacify the population.
Therefore we look for an American defeat in Iraq.
Whitney hopes that enough Americans die in Iraq that we pull out, even should his own son be among the fallen. This is the talk of a man who can barely control his hatred. The prospect of American deaths, even of his own son, is more attractive to him than the prospect of peace, if that peace means an American success. I wonder what he'd say if it was his son's head being held aloft by Abu al Zarqawi on a video of his son's execution: "Sorry, son, but you have to understand its better that you have your head cut off than that America succeed in freeing the Iraqis from oppression and tyranny."
The fact that Whitney thinks the insurgency, which is comprised largely of non-Iraqis, which kills Iraqis indiscriminately, and whose support among the people is falling asymptotically close to zero, are the true representatives of the people, makes him either demented, ignorant, or stupid, or all three.
We suspect Father's Day will be a rather subdued event in the Whitney household this June.