Christopher Hitchens comes out against the Iraq War!!!!!! pt 04

[valleyshrew]

Having looked into both Gulf wars, it strikes me as extremely peculiar that you could be against the first one and for the second one. The first Gulf war seems like a perfect example of a just war. A moral cause to free Kuwait, with a quick victory and relatively low civilian casualties. The second Gulf war was long, had extremely high casualties and though it was good to remove Saddam, he was no longer a danger and the new government is little better.

[zzzzJAGJEETzzzz]

i like hitchens especially against religion but I really think he has betrayed the cause by supporting the 2003 invasion, he comes off as a bigot.

[MrAlexanderMadison]

Wait, didn't Christopher say that he changed his position on Iraq while visiting the Northern Kurdish province in 1991, but his debate took place two years after in 1993. He mentions the Kurds here, but nothing about his mind changing experience, now I'm question hoe much of that story is embellished to defend his change of heart.

[gulshabbo]

@MrAlexanderMadison You make a very good point. I would advise you to consult Hitchens's Guardian article from September 13, 2001. Reading it has made me conclude that his campaign against "Islamic fascism" has been strategic and calculated rather than genuine and ideological.

[MrAlexanderMadison]

@gulshabbo I can't claim to know whether his motive was genuine or calculated; in his memoir he mentions that he misjudged the first gulf war and by 2003 changed his mind in favor of intervention. This could be completely genuine on his part, but it still makes me wonder why the story about his 1991 visit to the Kurdish province in Iraq didn't come up in 1993.

[MrGrandDragon]

Hold on hold on

So is Hitchens against the Iraq war now?

am confused

[TheProgressistViewer]

This is 20 years ago, the first gulf war.

[MrGrandDragon]

@TheProgressistViewer

OMG hes a hypocrite then?

[eugdog106]

not really,

[TheProgressistViewer]

When Bush father was pres

[eugdog106]

hitchens was agianst the war in 1991 which they are currently debating but he favored it in 2003.

[Rockroi]

The portion where Hitchens hits his stride is when he states that if you believe there will be War Crimes Trials, than you will buy anything. And I agree.

But if you flash-forward a mere decade and substitute the words "War Crimes Trials" with "Finding Weapons of Mass Destruction" you have a near-identical criticism of the American people in a war Hitchens would then support. So which is it, Mr. Hitchens? Did we somehow become so much more keen in 12 years? Or are you a hypocrite?

[MrFluffay]

I would flame you and try to argue your statement, which I would fill with many personal insults to feel better about myself, but you said "IMO", so I can't do that without looking like a retard.