RADICAL HISTORIAN HOWARD ZINN
Support Our Troops: Bring Them Home

From ZNet:

It is a strange logic to declare, as so many in Washington do, that it was wrong for us to invade Iraq but right for us to remain. A recent New York Times editorial sums up the situation accurately: "Some 21 months after the American invasion, United States military forces remain essentially alone in battling what seems to be a growing insurgency, with no clear prospect of decisive success any time in the foreseeable future."

And then, in an extraordinary non sequitur: "Given the lack of other countries willing to put up their hands as volunteers, the only answer seems to be more American troops, and not just through the spring, as currently planned. . . . Forces need to be expanded through stepped-up recruitment."

Here is the flawed logic: We are alone in the world in this invasion. The insurgency is growing. There is no visible prospect of success. Therefore, let's send more troops? The definition of fanaticism is that when you discover that you are going in the wrong direction, you redouble your speed.

Click here for the rest.

But then, it is important to observe that when one looks up that definition of fanaticism in the dictionary, one will also find a picture of the United States. That is, it seems that since 9/11 the US ruling elite and their apologists have been fanatical. This whole thing has been spurred on by flawed logic from the get-go. Saddam had no WMDs, and this was known before the invasion. Saddam had no connections with Al-Qaeda, and this, too, was known before the invasion. No Iraqis were involved in the attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon, which was also known before the war. Public debate and discussion about the war, before during and after, have been disingenuous at best, focusing on some details but never the big picture. I'm still amazed at how crazy the whole thing's been.

Zinn is absolutely right, of course. This is pure insanity, and the only rational course is to get out, right now. As usual, however, I'm not very hopeful.

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