Mark Morford - Come See Our Brutal Democracy

[realFedUp]

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2005/02/02/notes020205.DTL&nl=fix

Come See Our Brutal Democracy

Freedom rings in Iraq! Bush was right all along! American wins! Or, you know, not

- By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist
Wednesday, February 2, 2005

Ah, the violent march of democracy.

snip

While it's always heartwarming to see a brutalized and disheartened people flex their newfound freedom for the first time, the costs of this teetering, fragile, force-fed, implode-at-any-moment democracy are nauseating and appalling. You already know the numbers: $300 billion, over 1,400 dead U.S. soldiers and over 10,000 permanently wounded and countless thousands of dead innocent Iraqi civilians -- and many, many more to come.

But let us not forget the biggest disclaimer of all: Not a single one of BushCo's alleged reasons for dragging our fractured and bankrupt nation into one of the most brutal wars since Vietnam has actually proved valid or justifiable. The disgusting array of WMD/nuclear/biotoxin lies and deceptions are not suddenly erased because we set up some polling places.

How quickly we forget: A democratic Iraq was never the reason Bush forced us into this war. Iraq's fledgling democracy is a pleasant side effect, an bonus PR move, a heartwarming and patriotic patina of bogus humanitarianism BushCo is now trying to slather over one of the most disastrous and inept military efforts in recent history. It makes for terrific photo-ops. It makes for miserable and debilitating foreign policy.

snip

Let's just say it outright: The ends do not justify the means. A barely democratic Iraq is fine and good, but you well know that if Bush had mumbled to the nation three years and $300 billion ago that we were going to start bombing this piss-poor country back to the stone age and gut the U.S. economy and put thousands of American soldiers and tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis in death's way to deliver it, all while sending the nastiest possible message to the world and actually increasing the threat of terrorism while turning our backs on every major U.S. ally, I doubt many Americans would have giddily waved the flag of support (except maybe Ann Coulter, who apparently loves anything involving guns and dead foreigners).

continued

[xchrom]

1. and that's why i repeat over and over

where are the wmd's.
it's one of my connections to reality -- i refuse t go through the neo-fascist looking glass.

[realFedUp]

2. Weapons of mass deception are all around Iraq. n/t

[daydreamer]

3. Mark is great

as usual.

[dog_lovin_dem]

4. Mark Morford

was one of the first authors I read when attempting to discover why 9/11 took place. His article titled "Evil Evildoers of Evil" is a classic...

[shrike]

5. Just emailed him about elections during the British occupation

These were not the first-ever elections in Iraq. They were the first in fifty years. Pointed it out for the sake of clarity.

[Bitter Betty]

6. Mark Morford... one of my fave columnists

Just love the way he bashes shrub... and this war... and fundies... I could go on and on.