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By Mike Cuenca | March 31, 2003
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Much of how the U.S. media and the U.S. public are condemning the
Iraqis' response to the invasion of their country is one-sided and
hypocritical.
For instance, right here in Lawrence, two National Guard armories are
both within a few dozen feet of civilian homes. One of them is within
300 feet of a public school. Are we then guilty of having "deliberately
placed military targets in civilian areas?" We're attacking their towns
and cities; of course we're going to find military targets around
civilians.
The U.S. is declaring Iraqis to be war criminals for fighting in their
civilian clothing. What about the Minutemen in our Revolutionary War?
What about the U.S. special forces and CIA operatives who are in Iraq
wearing Iraqi civilian clothing. Are they also war criminals? Or are
they just spies?
We're condemning the Iraqis for showing our POWs on TV. What about how
often we've seen Iraqi POWs on TV? What about the humiliating and
degrading treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, also shown on TV?
We're just as imperfect and flawed as any other group of people on this
planet. War is not an enlightened response to the problems of this
modern world. We should support our troops and work reasonably and
determinedly to bring them home from the horror, madness and chaos
they're experiencing in our name. We should provide aid and comfort to
those living under oppressive regimes and utilize our power and
authority to "liberate" them by whatever peaceful means necessary.
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Originally published by the Lawrence Journal-World.
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