Being a history geek, I thought that seeing parallels between Iraq & the American Civil War could be interesting. I finished this piece with a slack jaw. Is it me, or did this guy just argue that the "regime change" in the South lead to over a hundred years of violence with no positive rewards? Yep. I just read it again. The implications here are that freeing the slaves was a waste of time, money and lives. Wow! 145 years after the fact, and only bad things can be seen in the American Civil War and its aftermath. Did all the slaves buckle under during reconstruction so that when the troops pulled out in 1877 slavery was the de facto situation? No. There was a mass exodus of slaves to the north and out of the country. These were a freed people who spread out from the South, doing and building and creating. Was everything wine & roses, did every person get 40 acres and a mule (a promise by a general, not the government btw)? No. But by and large they were a free people and able to do what free people do. I can't imagine what this guy thought would be a better outcome.
Just like the Civil War, America has freed a people through our blood and treasure. They may go through trials & tribulations, but it will be as freed men and women, not oppressed by the fascists. It was the right thing to do. It remains the right thing to do. Just because its hard doesn't mean we should cut and run, just as we didn't during the Civil War.
Sunday, August 28, 2005
American Civil War Parallels in Iraq
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
A case where there are similarities, but not identical situations. That's why the whole comparison fails in the end.
First off it was a civil war. The reason for it was much more complex than the writer gives credit too. He also misses the point that the south started the combat phase. In Iraq the combat phase was initiated by the US after more than a decade of trying to force Iraq into compliance with UN resolutions. You know that nasty little bit about diplomacy that so many think that Bush ignored.
The writer's bewailing that lessons haven't been learned is just incredible. In fact it truly does appear that the present administration has learned lessons from previous wars. Complete defeat of the enemy being the first. Then there is staying the course until the country can stand on its own with its own democracy. I was amazed that the writer goes on that it is the US template for democracy that is being forced on them. Funny, it looks like a parlimentary system to me. No parliment in the US last I looked.
There are similarities with the actions of the civil war, but that doesn't make them applicable to an argument on whether we should stay or whether we are doing the right thing.
Post a Comment