Reply #121: I agree: images can clearly display the horror of war. That is indeed valuable.

[Occam Bandage]

When discussing Iraq, I believe it is also valuable to understand the political intricacies and cultural and tribal background surrounding the horror. I also think images, in their power, can overwhelm those concerns.

After all, those who intended to sell the war did so largely through images, intended to get people to understand emotionally "the dangers we face," and the brutality of Saddam's regime. Mushroom clouds over New York, "WMD facilities," mass graves, and the like were presented to the populace without full context, and as a result of that, America supported a war it now regrets.

Relying on "emotional truth" can be dangerous, for every position, no matter how abhorrent, possesses a perspective from which it feels reasonable.