Death and Democracy

by Pieter J. Friedrich

"Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity!"--Habakkuk 2:12

With the purpose of "liberating" that city so January elections can be held there, the U.S. military began the third invasion of Fallujah on Monday. With the occurrence of that invasion, it would be wise to stop and consider the fruits borne by U.S. "liberation" efforts.

One of the main rationales offered for war in Iraq was that Saddam Hussein was "one of the most cruel and vicious tyrants in the history of the world,"1 so the U.S. was obligated to overthrow him and free Iraq from his oppressive rule. It was implied that the Iraqis would welcome our armed invasion with open arms and flowers, and though we wouldn't bother documenting civilian casualties, such would be negligible. The handful of Iraqi civilians who were "accidentally" killed would, of course, die proud in the knowledge that their deaths were a necessary evil in order for their countrymen to taste freedom.

Posted by Editor at November 11, 2004 08:21 AM