Spring Break
Left's hatred blinds followers to progress in Iraq
Andrew Dunn
Issue date: 7/23/04 Section: Ed-Op
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The United States of America is the greatest country in the world. This statement is likely to infuriate many people on the far-left.
I should feel sad that a growing number of people despise our country, but instead, I'm angry. I'm angry that, according to a recent poll, 40% of Canadian youth see the U.S. as "evil." I'm angry that Michael Moore tells French audiences that Americans are "stupid." And, I'm furious that left-wing hate-mongers are quick to label people like myself as "Nazis" just because we challenge their ignorant, slanderous propaganda.
Much of the far-left's attitude comes from Operation Iraqi Freedom. We've all heard the rants: "It's a war for oil!" "Bush is avenging his daddy!" "It's so Halliburton can get rich!" Have any of the people making these claims really thought about the kind of regime Saddam Hussein operated? I somehow doubt it, so for all of the misinformed, here's a history lesson on Hussein's Iraq.
From the start of their reign of terror, Hussein's Baath Party forced Iraqi Jews to carry yellow identity cards. Later, following the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Jewish property was expropriated; Jewish bank accounts were frozen; Jews were dismissed from public posts and had to live in restricted areas. Sounds a lot like what happened in the early days of Adolf Hitler, doesn't it?
In December 1968, the Baath government rounded up Jews throughout the country, accusing them of being Israeli spies. The following month, before several hundred thousand spectators, these "spies" were hung in Baghdad's Tahrir Square. Today, there are estimated to be less than 100 Jews in Iraq.
Six years later in March 1974, in a blatant act of ethnic cleansing, the government declared war against the Kurds of Northern Iraq. The towns of Zakho and Qala'at Diza were bulldozed, and hundreds of thousands of Kurds fled their villages. The following year, the government began an official policy of mass deportations and resettlement.
Like the Jews and the Kurds, Iraqi Shiites faced persecution as well. In February 1977, following the execution of key religious leaders, the government began deporting Iraqi Shiites to Iran. By the end of the 1970s, over 200,000 Iraqis were forcibly deported, stripped of their nationality and property. In the predominately Sunni sections of the country, Shiites were uprooted and relocated to a newly built "ghetto" in Baghdad, insultingly named Saddam City.
I should feel sad that a growing number of people despise our country, but instead, I'm angry. I'm angry that, according to a recent poll, 40% of Canadian youth see the U.S. as "evil." I'm angry that Michael Moore tells French audiences that Americans are "stupid." And, I'm furious that left-wing hate-mongers are quick to label people like myself as "Nazis" just because we challenge their ignorant, slanderous propaganda.
Much of the far-left's attitude comes from Operation Iraqi Freedom. We've all heard the rants: "It's a war for oil!" "Bush is avenging his daddy!" "It's so Halliburton can get rich!" Have any of the people making these claims really thought about the kind of regime Saddam Hussein operated? I somehow doubt it, so for all of the misinformed, here's a history lesson on Hussein's Iraq.
From the start of their reign of terror, Hussein's Baath Party forced Iraqi Jews to carry yellow identity cards. Later, following the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Jewish property was expropriated; Jewish bank accounts were frozen; Jews were dismissed from public posts and had to live in restricted areas. Sounds a lot like what happened in the early days of Adolf Hitler, doesn't it?
In December 1968, the Baath government rounded up Jews throughout the country, accusing them of being Israeli spies. The following month, before several hundred thousand spectators, these "spies" were hung in Baghdad's Tahrir Square. Today, there are estimated to be less than 100 Jews in Iraq.
Six years later in March 1974, in a blatant act of ethnic cleansing, the government declared war against the Kurds of Northern Iraq. The towns of Zakho and Qala'at Diza were bulldozed, and hundreds of thousands of Kurds fled their villages. The following year, the government began an official policy of mass deportations and resettlement.
Like the Jews and the Kurds, Iraqi Shiites faced persecution as well. In February 1977, following the execution of key religious leaders, the government began deporting Iraqi Shiites to Iran. By the end of the 1970s, over 200,000 Iraqis were forcibly deported, stripped of their nationality and property. In the predominately Sunni sections of the country, Shiites were uprooted and relocated to a newly built "ghetto" in Baghdad, insultingly named Saddam City.
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tholzerman
tholzerman
posted 7/23/04 @ 1:34 PM EST
Dude, you're way off base here.
I don't doubt the tyrrany of Saddam Hussein's rule, but please, that's not a valid reason to go to war in this day and age. (Continued…)
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