Tuesday, October 05, 2004

Ever since the U.S. invaded Iraq a year and a half ago, neoconservatives have been comparing Saddam Hussein to Hitler and invoking World War II to justify what is arguably the most naked act of aggression since Hitler invaded Poland. I sometimes get the impression that, for neocons, only one war happened before whatever the current conflict that needs to be sanctified, and that is World War II, the Good War. Often, I have wondered, "What happened to World War I? Why doesn't anyone use THAT war to justify every other war that came after it?" Well, for good reason. The lesson of World War II is that one must never appease a tyrant. But World War I teaches that "territorial compromise is better than full-scale war." World War I "teaches us never to rush into a fight."

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