Category Archives: Iraq

Democracy à la Dubya

Bush, Democracy, Iraq, Middle East

Democracy ala Dubya has two sections. Here are excerpts from each:

To Democratize Or Not To Democratize

In his State of the Union Address, the president branded the United States as the world’s “partner for a better life.” He also recommitted “our nation” “abroad” “to an historic, long-term goal”: seeking “the end of tyranny in our world.” To discredit those who oppose recreational, unprovoked wars, coups, and other state-sponsored global interventions, Mr. Bush deployed the “isolationist” epithet.
The president’s proselytizing is unconstitutional and has been undertaken with no real authority. If Mr. Bush is so bewitched by the demos—the rule of the many—he should try some Athenian magic on the foot soldiers who’ll be fighting and financing his schemes.
So how about a referendum on this question?

Elect A New People
While throwing money and men to Moloch, the commander in chief ignores that the Arab Street has always been more militant than its leaders… The only way Bush will get the democracy he desires in the Arab world is by dissolving the people and electing another, to paraphrase Bertold Brecht…

Blog away.

About Democracy ala Dubya, Jay Homnick of The Reform Club writes: “Ilana Mercer has summed up her recent critques of George Bush’s Middle East policy in one powerful essay wherein every word sparkles. Agree or not, not to be missed.”
There is an interesting thread at The Reform Club, to be followed here.
Thanks Jay.

Letters From ‘The Front’

Foreign Policy, Iraq, Just War, War

Sifting through IlanaMercer.com’s archives, I found some of the many missives WorldNetDaily’s intrepid editors fielded about my coverage of the invasion of Iraq. Some of the comments were even more cutting than the hereunder. The letter’s date suggests Mr. Carr was piqued over the following pieces (among others): In bed With the Military, ‘Just War’ for Dummies, Tuned-Out, Turned-On and Hot for War, U.S.: Global Governor? Betraying Brave Boys, etc. To their great credit, most of the readers I hear from these days no longer support the war. —ILANA

From: Tim Carr
Sent: Wednesday, April 09, 2003
To: David Kupelian
Cc: jfarah@worldnetdaily.com
Subject: Awful Ilana

Guys, I am about to boycott your splendid web site.

I am getting sick and tired of Ilana Mercer bashing the United States of America. If she (and anyone else for that matter) really feels that the current form of government is as corrupt and evil as she suggests it is, then she has but one of two choices: run away and hide, because a government that is as corrupt as she suggests cannot be stopped nor can it be trusted and is capable of any level of malevolence; or two, get a gun, march to DC and start an armed revolution, because her vote is worthless, democracy is a sham and a vote cannot and will not fix it.

As for me and my house, I am getting tired of seeing her anti-American sentiments being passed off as Old Right, legitimate conservatism. More to the point, I am getting tired of seeing her vitriol being bandied about on World Net Daily. Her views are so … out of touch with other contributors on your web site that she might as well just come right out and say that she wishes the US would lose the war in Iraq (Oh yes, I know, she supports our troops, she just does not support the USE of force in this war. That sound you hear is me yawning, and if my yawn were any bigger we would need to map it out and give it a name. Please, spare me that double speak.)…

Ilana and I have exchanged quite a few e-mails. Some of them were heated. They never really rose above the level of political debate. Strong views were expressed on both sides. I even called her a nut case and loopy in one instance. So, I came away from the exchange frustrated. I was frustrated, as I often am, because something was gnawing at me, and I could not pinpoint what it was. So, as I lay in bed thinking to myself, I had some revelations. Here is what I learned.

I love reading Ilana’s stuff. I always have, that is, until the last 4 months. Lately, some of the foundational underpinnings of her beliefs have come to the forefront and I have found myself increasingly offended by her comments and more and more critical of her work. What is interesting to me is that I tricked myself into thinking that I disagreed with her politics, and I was roped into this line of reasoning by way of Ilana’s rhetoric. Make no mistake, Ilana is brilliant. But what I failed to see is that Ilana is suffering from political tunnel vision. By this I mean that for all of Ilana’s erudite, political exegesis, her rhetoric never rises above the level of political debate [natural rights and Just War Theory, my purview, fall within the philosophical realm, surely.—ILANA]

Because of Ilana’s political tunnel vision, she is missing the most crucial lesson of Iraq. What is happening in Iraq has nothing to do with politics. This war is unlike any other, accept for maybe WWII, but even WWII takes a back seat to Iraq in terms of what is at stake here. This war is about nothing less than the survival of humanity. What we are talking about is a struggle of cosmic proportions between Good and Evil, Light and Darkness, God and Satan, Man and demon. This struggle transcends the petty balance of control in the Senate and House. It transcends the debate of who is a true conservative, neo or paleo. This cosmic struggle relegates the notions of global expansion and democracy vs. communism to the level of petty strife

Do you subscribe to her isolationist views? If so, please let me know and I will make sure to avoid WND from this point forward. [“Isolationism” in this context is used to discredit individuals who do not support recreational, unprovoked wars—ILANA]

Thanks
—Tim Carr

Letters From 'The Front'

Foreign Policy, Iraq, Just War, War

Sifting through IlanaMercer.com’s archives, I found some of the many missives WorldNetDaily’s intrepid editors fielded about my coverage of the invasion of Iraq. Some of the comments were even more cutting than the hereunder. The letter’s date suggests Mr. Carr was piqued over the following pieces (among others): In bed With the Military, ‘Just War’ for Dummies, Tuned-Out, Turned-On and Hot for War, U.S.: Global Governor? Betraying Brave Boys, etc. To their great credit, most of the readers I hear from these days no longer support the war. —ILANA

From: Tim Carr
Sent: Wednesday, April 09, 2003
To: David Kupelian
Cc: jfarah@worldnetdaily.com
Subject: Awful Ilana

Guys, I am about to boycott your splendid web site.

I am getting sick and tired of Ilana Mercer bashing the United States of America. If she (and anyone else for that matter) really feels that the current form of government is as corrupt and evil as she suggests it is, then she has but one of two choices: run away and hide, because a government that is as corrupt as she suggests cannot be stopped nor can it be trusted and is capable of any level of malevolence; or two, get a gun, march to DC and start an armed revolution, because her vote is worthless, democracy is a sham and a vote cannot and will not fix it.

As for me and my house, I am getting tired of seeing her anti-American sentiments being passed off as Old Right, legitimate conservatism. More to the point, I am getting tired of seeing her vitriol being bandied about on World Net Daily. Her views are so … out of touch with other contributors on your web site that she might as well just come right out and say that she wishes the US would lose the war in Iraq (Oh yes, I know, she supports our troops, she just does not support the USE of force in this war. That sound you hear is me yawning, and if my yawn were any bigger we would need to map it out and give it a name. Please, spare me that double speak.)…

Ilana and I have exchanged quite a few e-mails. Some of them were heated. They never really rose above the level of political debate. Strong views were expressed on both sides. I even called her a nut case and loopy in one instance. So, I came away from the exchange frustrated. I was frustrated, as I often am, because something was gnawing at me, and I could not pinpoint what it was. So, as I lay in bed thinking to myself, I had some revelations. Here is what I learned.

I love reading Ilana’s stuff. I always have, that is, until the last 4 months. Lately, some of the foundational underpinnings of her beliefs have come to the forefront and I have found myself increasingly offended by her comments and more and more critical of her work. What is interesting to me is that I tricked myself into thinking that I disagreed with her politics, and I was roped into this line of reasoning by way of Ilana’s rhetoric. Make no mistake, Ilana is brilliant. But what I failed to see is that Ilana is suffering from political tunnel vision. By this I mean that for all of Ilana’s erudite, political exegesis, her rhetoric never rises above the level of political debate [natural rights and Just War Theory, my purview, fall within the philosophical realm, surely.—ILANA]

Because of Ilana’s political tunnel vision, she is missing the most crucial lesson of Iraq. What is happening in Iraq has nothing to do with politics. This war is unlike any other, accept for maybe WWII, but even WWII takes a back seat to Iraq in terms of what is at stake here. This war is about nothing less than the survival of humanity. What we are talking about is a struggle of cosmic proportions between Good and Evil, Light and Darkness, God and Satan, Man and demon. This struggle transcends the petty balance of control in the Senate and House. It transcends the debate of who is a true conservative, neo or paleo. This cosmic struggle relegates the notions of global expansion and democracy vs. communism to the level of petty strife

Do you subscribe to her isolationist views? If so, please let me know and I will make sure to avoid WND from this point forward. [“Isolationism” in this context is used to discredit individuals who do not support recreational, unprovoked wars—ILANA]

Thanks
—Tim Carr

My Person of the Year: The Average Iraqi

Foreign Policy, Iraq, Media, War

“Person of the Year,” TIME stipulates, “is an annual issue that features a profile on the man, woman, couple, group, idea, place, or machine that—for better or worse—has most influenced events in the preceding year.”
My Person of the Year flouts TIME’s criteria. He has not “influenced events in the preceding year”; he has been irreparably influenced by events beyond his control. He has not triumphed over adversity, for how can he? To do so, he’d have to be super powerful, like a Super Power. He’d have to be someone with a say; someone whose vote actually counts. He’d have to be wealthy; stupendously strong; immune to daisy cutters, cluster bombs, RPGs, and IEDs.
My Person of the Year is the Common Iraqi.
Yes, it is misguided to celebrate victims. But then I am not celebrating The Average Iraqi. I’m suggesting that he serve as a symbol for the ravages visited by the state. He has constituted collateral damage for two administrations. And he’ll continue to be a pawn in the grubby hands of whoever seizes power in that failed state.
The Average Iraqi’s vote is not a triumph over adversity; it’s a victory over reality, for it is folly to equate freedom with symbols, and rhetoric with reality. Casting a vote to give someone power does not make a man free; freedom is the knowledge that even if one doesn’t perform that ritual, nobody can exercise power over one’s life, liberty, and property.
The Average Iraqi is a tragic hero, not a Randian hero. His image should be seared in the minds of men with a conscience. He is the repository of state evil; first Saddam, and then a faraway president and his Revolutionary Assembly sealed his fate without his consent.