Saturday, December 30, 2006
Selfish Editors
Death of a dictator - Los Angeles Times: "ONCE UPON A TIME, the death of Saddam Hussein would have been an epochal event for Iraq, the Middle East and the world. Now there is some question whether it will even matter in Baghdad."
It seems to me that the L.A. Times Editor is being quite selfish. His opening statement is to say that if Saddam's death does not help the U.S. in its efforts, there is no impact of his death at all. While I think it is okay to measure much of what we do in Iraq in terms of how it helps us, this was something the Iraqis did themselves to bring justice to the millions of fellow Iraqis who were brutalized when Saddam ran roughshod over the country. This trial and execution had much less to do with the U.S. than it did the very Iraqi people that we are freeing. So, no, this won't likely change the level of violence (and seems it may spark more in the short run), but it may be an emotional turn of the tide for those Iraqis fearful of Saddam's return to power. Those Iraqis that see the future more hopefully after this execution may then become more allied with the U.S. effort and assist in rooting out the insurgents, etc. This is one event where we should just be happy for the Iraqi people and what they have accomplished.
It seems to me that the L.A. Times Editor is being quite selfish. His opening statement is to say that if Saddam's death does not help the U.S. in its efforts, there is no impact of his death at all. While I think it is okay to measure much of what we do in Iraq in terms of how it helps us, this was something the Iraqis did themselves to bring justice to the millions of fellow Iraqis who were brutalized when Saddam ran roughshod over the country. This trial and execution had much less to do with the U.S. than it did the very Iraqi people that we are freeing. So, no, this won't likely change the level of violence (and seems it may spark more in the short run), but it may be an emotional turn of the tide for those Iraqis fearful of Saddam's return to power. Those Iraqis that see the future more hopefully after this execution may then become more allied with the U.S. effort and assist in rooting out the insurgents, etc. This is one event where we should just be happy for the Iraqi people and what they have accomplished.
