I just had a conversation (actually, a debate) with an opponent of our military involvement in Iraq. He was trying to start an argument with an artist who was displaying a pro-war drawing of an American soldier. The artist wanted no part of the argument so I, being the argumentative sort, volunteered. This guy couldn't understand how any right-thinking person could support the war and support our troops because our treatment of captured terrorists is obviously immoral--apparently terrorists should be awarded prisoner of war status in keeping with the Geneva Convention and Jose Padilla and his ilk are victims of gross mistreatment. I should have asked how beheadings fit into the Geneva protocols, but I was too busy defending the strategic importance of winning in Iraq. If you want to be accused of "the worst kind of cultural imperialism", just try suggesting that Middle Eastern culture and governmental institutions are seriously broken and need to be fixed.
It stuns me to see the most ardent leftists defending the "right" of those in the Middle East to be ruled by totalitarian dictators, brutal theocrats and (at best) relatively enlightened despots. We are so blessed to live in this magnificent country where we are free to think, speak and do as we please, but those who do the most to take advantage of that freedom both pretend it doesn't exist here while opposing our government's efforts to spread that same freedom to a part of the world that desperately needs it. I could go on and on, but it's easier to tell you to take a look at this post. Our nation's cause is just and it's worth defending.
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