the Koolaid Crowd is at it again, and David Brooks is pouring a thick concoction of bullshit for the true believers
In Iraq at the moment, however, savagery seems to be triumphing over decency. The insurgents and the militias -- who kill and maim with abandon -- appear to be wearing away the morale of those who seek a decent, democratic nation.
apparently an occupier who is using the same tactics as the insurgency isn't worth mentioning
see more beyond the break
The insurgents' first advantage is that not only are they cruel, they are absolutely cruel. The defining feature of their violence is not merely that they murder, but that they torture those they are about to kill. Shiite militias use drills to bore holes into their victims' heads. Sunni insurgents saw off fingers and toes. Jihadists partially behead their victims and then stomp on their torsos to create gushes of blood before finishing the job. Videos of such acts are posted on the Internet or sold in the markets of towns like Haditha.
so the problem isn't American Marines murdering people in Haditha. It's those damn insurgents and their damn videos
no mention of the videos of Americans torturing and murdering Iraqis in Abu Ghraib, cuz we're the good guys, I guess
Atrocities on this scale look less like war than like blood madness. Iraq becomes less like a battle zone than a formless pit of horror. Far from motivating most Americans to fight harder, cruelty on this scale is unnerving. Most Americans simply want to get away. The lesson is that if you are willing to defy all norms and codes of morality, you can undermine your enemy's willingness to fight.
so apparently Americans are not horrified by the actions of our own soldiers, but the same actions by Iraqi insurgents have unnerved us
All wars are savage. And guerrilla wars are particularly savage. (See the successful American counterinsurgency campaign in the Philippines just over a century ago.) But the Iraqi insurgents have been able to create a climate of special treachery, in which every approaching civilian is a possible suicide bomber and every bedroom a potential terrorist haven.
most thinking people would conclude that george bush was responsible for what is happening in Iraq. (george is the one who decided to launch this war of choice, isn't he ???) Not so according to brooksie. It's the insurgents who are responsible for all of the horrors
I guess bush can't be held responsible for the insurgency, because george bush had no idea that the insurgents would fight against American occupation. Since george ignored General Shinseki's warnings (cuz what do generals know about war) george's only defense is stupidity
avoiding all knowledge = No Foul
"When you have to deal with barbarians, you must behave like a barbarian yourself," a Greek officer in the Balkan wars of 1912-13 declared. But Americans, to their credit, have been unwilling to rationalize barbaric action so easily. Because American troops come from the culture they do, they have not become the sort of people they would have to be to defeat the insurgents at their own game.
so the problem isn't that Americans have been brutalizing Iraqis
the problem is that we haven't been terrorizing the Iraqis enough to defeat them at their own game
at least brooksie gets a little bit of the problem in to that pea sized lump of grey matter brooksie calls a brain:
The insurgents' third malicious advantage is that they have no agenda. This has always been regarded as a big disadvantage. But it turns out to be an advantage because they are not confronted with the difficult task of building anything. All they have to do is destroy, and every day that they spread mayhem is a victory.
well DUH
I would presume that this little gem of knowledge has been known for 7000 years of recorded history. I think Sun Tzu mentions it in "The Art Of War", But brooksie acts like this is something that brooksie just figured out. I guess brooksie's waiting for the film version of "The Art Of War" to be made before he bothers with such boring stuff
at this rate, brooksie should figure out that the invasion of Iraq was a FUCKING BAD IDEA from the beginning. Unfortunatly, at brooksie's slow learning rate, he should come to this conclusion about 10 years after we abandon the green zone
for some strange reason, I knew this information in March of 2003
how could brooksie be so stupid and still work for the ny Times
subscription is required if you want to read this piece of shit article, but why bother. I posted the bulk of brooksie's delusional blather for ridiculing pleasure
just laugh in brooksie's face every chance you get. he'll know what it's about