Anti-War Protester, Protests - This,

Anti-War Protester, Protests - This, via Instapundit, is an anti-war protester from Prague catalogueing his objections to the current anti-war movement:

On the one hand the left espouses equal rights for women, minorities and homosexuals; it lauds free speech and a vibrant independent press as essentials of civil society. The left is a guardian of the separation of church and state and a watchdog of the judicial process. So it finds itself in diametrical opposition to the nature of most Arab societies. But in the wake of this opposition, the left simply sticks its head in the sand rather than confront the reality that as globalization integrates the world order ever closer, we are hurtling toward a clash of civilizations unless the world comes to some sort of agreement on universal values. The left has failed to say that it will not stand for the oppression of women, the vicious repression of human rights and suppression of democratic principles. The only thing it can articulate is a naive and dangerous blame-America-first rhetoric as the root of all problems in the world today

Just another dittohead warblogger, right?

Wrong:

It's not simply that I'm against the peaceniks and for invading Iraq. My ambivalence is based on a strong distrust of President George W. Bush's administration, a distrust so profound that I find it hard to support any policy coming out of the White House. I find its cynical exploitation of the Iraqi use of unconventional weapons against the Iranians and the Kurds self-serving in light of the U.S. government's having been far from critical when those war crimes took place. The hubris of the Bush administration and its unilateral tendencies are counterproductive and ugly. Its case that the Iraqi regime is linked to al-Qaida is dubious, and having the Bush administration filled with former oil executives makes people justifiably suspicious about its intentions in the oil-rich Middle East.

And for all that, he gets it:

But those who claim that the question of invading is solely one of oil interest are mistaken. If the only thing America is interested in is oil in the Middle East, it would have sold out Israel many years ago. Instead, America's policy on Israel is one of principle in supporting the only democratic nation in the Middle East, particularly as it suffers from a wave of homicidal fanatics blowing themselves up and taking with them as many innocent civilians as possible.

Maybe it's being overseas that gives Mr. Hurewitz the perspective from which he can make a rational judgement. Maybe he's just smarter than some protesters.

Or maybe it's just not that hard a case for a rational person to make.

Posted by Mitch at February 14, 2003 07:39 AM