"If people can’t imagine that you can hate Saddam and also think a unilateral war and long-term occupation of an Arab country are bad ideas, that is their problem." – Juan Cole explains, in the course of taking down ignorant git Jonah Goldberg.
This is about as basic as it gets.
Incidentally, I have an excellent theory concerning future wars: all decisions to start a war (or ‘pre-empt’, or ‘attack in defence’ – you know, what we did in Iraq and Afghanistan) should go to a referendum. The war goes ahead if a simple majority of voters approve it. Meantime, everyone who votes ‘yes’ is put on a list of people to be conscripted if they’re required for the war effort…
Excellent idea, I think this should be expanded to a referendum on bringing back hanging, (if the British public had their way they’d hang everyone from murderers to jaywalkers). By the simple process of hanging anyone who votes to bring it back, we could solve the housing crisis and vastly increase the average IQ.
Their problem? Not really… it’s our problem and it’s what keeps us in the doldrums…
But that was a fantastic post by Cole.