Chomsky News Network

[Peter K.]

Yoshie:
In the Vietnam War as well, there were two sides (actually more than
two sides, but let's set aside complexity for the moment), and at the
time when American involvement began (shortly after WW2) and
escalated to the point of employment of ground troops and aerial
bombings, it was not at all immediately obvious to most Americans
that Communists were better than imperialists and fundamentalists.
Back then, the Right argued that you'd have to be nuts to side with
Communists who murdered many civilians (far more than 3,000, they'd
assure you) and would clearly kill again.  If you are the type swayed
by the numbers and arguments given by _The Black Book of Communism_
and its predecessors -- "25 million in the former Soviet Union, 65
million in China, 1.7 million in Cambodia, and on and on" (@
<http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/COUBLA.html>) -- then you might
even argue that the record of fundamentalists looks pretty good in
comparison, as some no doubt did in an apology for US support for
mujahideen in Afghanistan.

In short, no example in itself is likely to change anyone's mind.
Some just have to learn the hard way, as a number of US veterans did.
--
Yoshie

Ouch. I agree with you on Vietnam. The U.S. engaged in a
war of aggression, but the government did keep it secret for as
long as possible from its citizens.

However, as the right is wont to do, you are confusing and conflating
many issues, and trying to change the subject.

During World War 2, the Soviet Union committed atrocities, like the
the massacre of Polish officers (btw, the wonderful film Enigma touches
on this) and indeed the Allies firebombed Dresden, etc. However,
the Nazis - driven by an insane ideology and btw previously supported by
the British Tories and sections of American big business - were
unquestionably the aggressors, agressors who it turned out would
fight to the death. This is a better analogy than the Vietnam War.

It's very difficult to calculate, but one would imagine that the toll on
humanity would have been worse had the U.S. sat out WWII. Even
though the war drove many Germans and other Europeans to end
up supporting the Nazis, many who might not otherwise have done
so, 60 years down the road you have a country that put on the largest,
best demonstrations against Bush, during his recent college tour
of Europe.

(W.'s gall is hilarious. When a German journalist asked him something
like what right or what reasons do you have for invading Iraq, W.
replied "Because he's a dictator who gassed his own people."
So there.)

Peter