Many many years ago, before some of you were born, the justification of the U.S. occupation of Iraq was along the lines of, “We’re there to assist some people achieve self-determination. Oh my, yes. We just love peoples’ right to self-determination, and that is why we must occupy this country to assist them achieve self-determination.”
Does anyone see the irony of the U.S. occupying Iraq against their will for the purpose of assisting them toward self-determination? Apparently, we understand their need for self-determination far better than they do.
Why aren’t we the American public insisting on an explanation for why we are still occupying Iraq? What earthly good are we getting from it? What earthly good are Iraqis getting from it? What’s our objective? When will it be done? In more practical terms, how long will China keep lending us the money to occupy the Middle East?
Am I the only remaining conservative in America anymore? Used to be that the main thing a conservative was conservative about was going in debt. A conservative was a person who saw debt as a tool that used well can provide many benefits, but used badly is the surest road to ruin. “Misuse of debt is one of the poorest ways of the poor,” our conservative grandparents used to explain to us.
Nowadays, nobody seems to have any concept of the debts we’re piling up, whether monetary debt or environmental debt. Nobody talks about it. Nobody demands any answers. Everybody seems to be asleep on the subject.
Charles Ashurst, Logan
