So what’s at root in the sharp divide between anti-war critics and staunch pro-Bush/pro-war administration defenders?
Peter Daou tackles the issue in this MUST READ analysis (read it and join the debate on our comments) in Salon. This detailed exploration by Daou (who makes no bones about his own point of view) is one of those pieces that if you quote from it, you could undermine the context. Still, here’s a small sampling — then read it all:
The unbridgeable divide between the left and right’s approach to Iraq and the WoT is, among other things, a disagreement over the value of moral and material strength, with the left placing a premium on the former and the right on the latter. The right (broadly speaking) can’t fathom why the left is driven into fits of rage over every Abu Ghraib, every Gitmo, every secret rendition, every breach of civil liberties, every shifting rationale for war, every soldier and civilian killed in that war, every Bush platitude in support of it, every attempt to squelch dissent. They see the left’s protestations as appeasement of a ruthless enemy. For the left (broadly speaking), America’s moral strength is of paramount importance; without it, all the brute force in the world won’t keep us safe, defeat our enemies, and preserve our role as the world’s moral leader…..
He then explains how the right views the left and how the left views the war. Daou then explores key moral justifications for the war and gives you his assessment. There’s a lot MORE (read it yourself) before he reaches his conclusion:
While bumper-sticker patriotism may have anodyne effects on Bush and his followers, the retroactive ethical justifications for the invasion and occupation of Iraq are flimsy at best. And for so many on the left, the undermining of America’s moral strength under this administration is more of a “grave and gathering danger” to America than Saddam Hussein ever was.
So (a)what do you think of his arguments and (b)how would you answer his arguments (which includes arguments we didn’t include in our short summary here)?
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.