Iraq Occupation compared to WWII

Republican apologists, when defending this administration and its policies in Iraq often invoke the memory of World War II. So, it is always interesting when I am reading for class and come over little tidbits. Here is a quotation from an essay, specifically on German Women in post-war West Germany, but dealing with attitudes towards occupation:

Nevertheless, although Inge symbolizes the moral decline of her society, she is not to blame for this decline. Rather, foreign occupation is. In the final meeting of most of the book's central characters, an American officer who is one of the moral anchors of the tale admits that the military occupation was hypocritical and corrupting. "The occupation was a dictatorship, even if in democratic garb.... We arrived here with the Bible in one hand and the knout in the other.... We believed ourselves to be missionaries, but we did not love those under our charge.... Our efforts were marked by the motto: '...and unless you are willing I shall have to use force.'" When a German in the circle remarks that Hitler had employed a similar motto, the American responds that Hitler hadn't claimed democracy-- and he hadn't been a foreigner. Neither the officer nor the author of the book are apologists for Nazism; this comparison of Hitler and the occupation government--to Hitler's apparent advantage-- is thus astonishing. The message is clear: West Germany must attain national sovereignty and the Yanks must go home.

(Elizabeth Heineman, The Hour of the Woman; from The Miracle Years, Hanna Schissler, ed.)

This does provoke some thought on our current situation in Iraq. Actually, just replace Hitler, German(y), and Nazism with Saddam Hussein, Iraq(i), and Baathism and the attitude is the same. We have one replaced one dictatorship for another, just this one has the trappings of democracy and is led by a foreign power.

A Speech with giant Elephant Testiculi

This is a new blog, so I'm fooling around with posting and the settings. Meanwhile, please feel free to read the following which is a speech I would have liked to hear at the debate in the house this past week. Then again, with a few edits, it could still be used to criticize this president and the rubber-stamp republicans who support him.

As a representative of the American People, it should give me great pleasure to address this august body in the hope of advancing a democratic and humanitarian agenda. Though our great country has many faults, it has long been known as a beacon of freedom, progress, hope and reason. It pains me to realize, and now vocalize that it shames me that there are many here today who betray the spirit of the American tradition and the ideals set down by our founding fathers, and those great Americans who came after who have nobly advanced those ideals to a level of greatness which our founding fathers would be proud.

The men and women who stain this august body, and have given cause to the world to view the American people with distrust, now hide behind a shield. This shield is constructed of first, what they claim to be in the interest of our soldiers. They claim if we talk of leaving Iraq and not allow the troops to finish their appointed task, that it will hurt their morale. Admitting defeat will only hurt the troops they say.

Frankly, I do not see how this could be so. I will admit that I have had no military experience, which is the same for many of the Republic party, though they will not admit that such experience is necessary for them to have the knowledge they need to make such a judgment. This is because their judgment is based totally on politics. They see that it is in their interest to allow more brave American soldiers to stay and die, or be maimed in order for them to win reelection. Ironically they claim to be the party of morality. I do not see anything moral about trading the life of a brave American for one, one hundred, one thousand, or even one million votes! I would accept defeat, with none voting for my reelection if it meant saving just one life of an American soldier. Saving their family from the loss; saving their children from having to grow up without ever knowing their mother or father.

Further, members of the Republic party claim that by debating this war we are encouraging and enabling the terrorists and that we live in a ‘pre-9/11’ mindset. Maybe that is not such a bad thing, since those of us in a ‘pre-9/11 mindset’ still believe in democracy and debate as opposed to security and totalitarianism. We are willing to die in order to practice those rights which our founding fathers enshrined for us in this great country.

The Republic party would use those fears generated by the terrorists to win election. In that, they are no better than the terrorists themselves. If they cannot win election on issue and debate and my scare the American People to get votes, then they are not politicians, they are terrorists. They may not use the violence, but they use the violence perpetuated by terrorists to support their position.

The Republic party channels the fear of the terrorists to erode the protections endowed on the American People by the constitution. They use the fear to take away our privacy and gradually turn our free country into a police state. They use fear to support the dictatorial presidency because it is in the control of their own party. The Republic party is destroying this country, and this war with Iraq is only part of it. The Republic party should be renamed to reflect its standing for it has left the founding principles of the party of Lincoln and become something sinister. If it were named to reflect its true beliefs, it would be known as the National Socialist American Workers’ Party.

Support for the escalation, support for this war, support for this president can only be interpreted as support for a new order, a new fascist state of this United States of America. I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this proposal, against the escalation, as a first step in rehabilitating our country into something we and our founding fathers could be proud of, and away from an American fascist state.