Arrogance

One of the many arguments used by the administration to justify the United States occupation of Iraq is that "we need to fight the terrorist there so we don't have to fight them here".

I admit to being quite dense at times. And it didn't really strike me (like most Americans I suspect) the real meaning of this statement until I read an article describing interactions among riders of a bus in Bagdad. During that ride, an argument broke out about the politics of Iraq. On participant had this to say:

Before he stepped down, Abbas turned to a visitor. "I thought we'd be like Germany or Japan. They were rebuilt after their wars," he said. "Bush called for a war on terrorism, but he fought it on our soil, not his. He protected his people but destroyed Iraq."

He shook his head as he walked away, toward his home. "Is this justice?" he asked

It's like, duh!

Talk about winning hearts and minds! One of the prime reasons for attacking Iraq is to destroy it for our own good!

If only we Americans could see ourselves a little bit like the international community sees us.