Patriotic Criticism

[ixion]

Published on Friday, September 26, 2003 by the Roanoke Times (Virginia)

Editorial

Iraq is a test the U.S. cannot afford to fail. The real patriots are the Americans protesting the inadequacies of the Bush administration's politically skewed policies.

Any debate over the Bush administration's Iraq policies should rest upon this foundation:

Success is likely to cost hundreds of billions of dollars and possibly hundreds more U.S. lives, but failure would cost far more.

Failure would mean far greater instability, violence and hardship in Iraq. Failure would open the door to power for radical, oppressive, anti-American groups. Failure could put the resources of an oil-rich and regionally influential nation in the hands of the very terrorists and religious zealots America is fighting to suppress.




http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0926-10.htm


Finally, it seems our dissent is being recognized for what it is: standing up and dissenting because we love, not hate, the US.

[Cappurr]

1. Well....

I definitely see the guys point....but this same kind of argument was made in Vietnam. "We can't just leave". Well, we did and the world didn't end. I'm just not willing to spend blood and my grandchildrens taxes to give this country a strong position in an large oil producing ME country. I agree we can't just walk out. But we can get off our high horses, give the UN some real power and let them try to help the Iraqi's establish a government. Unfortunately, it will probably be as corrupt as most of the ME governments, but that is the way that part of the world works now. It is centuries behind western countries and it will catch up someday. Its not for us to force change they do not want or are not ready for.

[ixion]

2. yeah, agreed...

I believe we should pull out of Iraq, always have. Didn't think we should be there in the first place.

I was just happy to see someone giving those of us who have dissented kudos for doing so.