Johnny Qum Lately - It's

Johnny Qum Lately - It's been galling, lately, to watch the rats climbing back on the re-floating ship.

"Dissent is patriotism!", they say as they slip over the gunwales. To them, it's not the force and cunning of American arms and diplomacy that ended the theo-judicial murders in Afghanistan, or brought down the genocidal Stalinists, Hussein and Sons. No, indeed - it was their dissent; their principled dissidence from the guy who won the 2000 election our lone-wolf, "cowboy" foreign policy. Yep; the human rights victory that was won "Not In Our Name" is suddenly to their credit.

Lileks throws them back in the drink, and their luggage with them for good measure:

Look. I don’t have “political misgivings” about a Liberian intervention; I have practical misgivings about using American forces in TFNs, or Totally Farked Nations. I’m on the fence here. I’ve heard compelling arguments against intervention, and I've heard solid arguments about the uniqueness of an American presence in Liberia, considering their attitude towards its distant thrice-removed paternal figure. But if I decide it’s all a big mistake, and I put up a lawn sign and write letters to the editor and show up for candlelight vigils and all the other examples of symbolic busywork, I don’t get to be thrilled when Monrovia is peaceful and thriving again. I get to be embarrassed.

It presumes, of course, that they're capable of admitting fault.

Posted by Mitch at July 28, 2003 03:14 AM