Indifference? I stated that I equivocally oppose sanctions, which would seem to indicate that Iraqi suffering has some significance to me. To my mind, the thorny question is akin to the one we now face: is it worse for the people of Iraq/Afghanistan to endure the horrible suffering the US inflicts on them or to be continually subjected to that which they inevitably face at the hands of their own brutal regimes into perpetuity? Of course, many don't believe this is a question the left has to resolve at all because (supposedly) no action the US could possibly take would lead to the end of these regimes whose essential vileness is rarely doubted.
> is _also_
> confusing two quite separate comparison/contrasts. I am at least as
> parsimonious as Chip in my use of the term "fascist," and I draw a
> definite distinction between the Nazi _state_ and the present U.S. state
> -- I would much rather live in the latter, and wish that state structure
> were more widespread. But refusing to compare the U.S. _state_ to the
> Nazi state does _not_ preclude comparison between the criminal actions
> of u.s. leaders and of Nazi leaders. Goering & Goebbels were mass
> murderers; Clinton and Powell were/are mass murderers.
You're the one who appears to be confused. I'm not of the opinion that Clinton may be considered a mass murderer in any sense other than that the actions of world leaders who approve of the use of considerable force and sanction (no matter how justified) will lead to a great number of deaths. Clinton's hardly unique in this regard, although I'll readily grant some of his decisions are worthy of harsh rebuke.
> Moreover, one can accept that the Germans had a fairly good excuse not
> to oppose vigorously the crimes of their leaders, such opposition
> constituting mere martyrdom. U.S. citizens have no such excuse for being
> apologists for the slaughters (starting back a century ago and listing
> only a few of them) in the Philippines, El Salvador (twice), Dresden,
> Nagasaki, Guatemala, Iran, Vietnam, Iraq, Yugoslavia, and now
> Afghanistan. Unlike the situation in Germany, U.S. citizens have had a
> series of powerful voices, from Twain through Chomsky, to instruct them
> in exactly what they were doing. Luke (along with many many others)
> cannot accept that instruction.
Why would anyone who considers themselves to be "left" lack the inclination or courage to face the truth? I'd eagerly accept the gospel from these "powerful voices" if I found it plausible. I may be deluding myself, but I still think I could be persuaded.
-- Luke