Christopher Hitchens on Charlie Rose 06-Jun-03 (Part 1)

[richardcadbury]

eric alterman = scum

[chocobosage420]

i lold when he called him a neocon

[TheWeareallequal]

hitchens has nothing on alterman, alterman wins

[samu3ls]

Interesting stuff. I have to say, Hitchens' argument is much more convincing than Alterman's.

[sanjocal]

geez did Charlie drink like 12 cups of coffee before he came on the show??

[TheTopBloke]

WTF??? This a conspiracy or what? I deliberately chose those series because I saw parts 1,2 and 3 available and npw I cant' find section 2. This is the second Hitchens series that has parts missing. If some can find it please let me know.

[daz19nz]

There was no Jihadist movement in iraq prior to the US Invasion. Iraq was ruled by a secularist, a brutal secularist but secularist nonetheless. It was only after the mindblowing failure of military and political policies concerning the war effort that Jihadists entered iraq from neighbouring countries. not to mention the increased numbers flocking to jihadist movements as U.S B52 bombers destroyed densely populated cities.

[JeffBeck13]

that is simply nihilism.

Saddam put 'Allah Akbar' on the flag. Had the Koran written out in his own blood in the most expensive mosque on the planet. He payed the families of suicide bombers of Palestine upwards of $25 000. He forced the Bath party for the final 10 years of his rule to undergo religious 'programming'. He went on national TV calling Iraq a 'Martyr nation'. HIs final words as he was hung were "allah akbar!'.

Zarqawi was also in Iraq training soldiers prior to the invasion.

[rgman268]

Saying Allah Akbar does not make you an extremist. Most Muslims say it. All it means is God is great.

You mentioned it twice as if he was some sort of Fanatic which he clearly wasn't.

[JeffBeck13]

Saddam was a religious fanatic.

at any rate, it certainly doesn't make you secular which was the guys point.

[rgman268]

No, he was not a religious fanatic.

If he was that, he would have made Iraq into a modern day Saudi Arabia and would have made a much bigger effort to exterminate the Shia and Christian population in Iraq.

Whilst they were persecuted, there was no systematic genocide such as the one that Jews went under. This could have easily been achieved.

Furthermore, the Iraqi state was not Islamic itself and Sharia Law was only used in cases of personal finance. That is hardly the mark....

[rgman268]

of a religous fundamentalist.

This is demonstrated in Saadam's attitude towards Gay people, who while did not live in complete freedom, were not specifically persecuted and did not need to live in hiding.

These are not the attitudes of a religious fundamentalist.

[rgman268]

In fact if you were to look at attitudes towards Gays today, many would argue that Gay people were better under Hussein since they many have and continue to be murdered.

[solidarity2205]

@JeffBeck13 And what did Bush &Obama do. Saddam &Osama killed a thousands, so did Bush &Obama. The former pair in the name of Islam and the latter in the holy name of democracy &freedom. If Obama gets a peace prize for all his bullshit so I believe Osama too is entitled to one, Remember Henry Kissinger getting a peace then after being the greatest warmonger. Americans fuck the whole world & later ask "WHY DO THEY HATE US?"

Obama is a black version of Bush. tagline is "WE WILL FORCE YOU 2B FREE"

[cvb777]

Alas, they have not.

[antelope65]

Four years down the line, the invasion has sure done a lot to prevent "the imminent meltdown of Iraqi society."

[soapfiction]

Compared to what it would have been had we not gone in, this is pretty good progress. More and more Iraqis on both sides are clueing in that the jihadist movement is not the way to go.

If you consider Saddam's rule preferable to anything else, even what it is now, you'd do well to spend a few months in North Korea. Try it for yourself.

[DirtinSky]

Mr. Hitchens is a great orator, and I would've given it 5 stars... but for the whiny voiced guest on the other side. His got an inch to twitch. And the debate has just begun.

[hornybodhisattva]

is CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS THE NEW THOMAS PAINE?

I HOPE SO cause we need some one like that more than ever!

[rationalthinker28]

I subscribed and I am happy to say thank you, bro!

[JGCollins]

Love me some hitch!

[handsanitizer452]

Me also love some hitch!

Thank you much to you, berkeleyguy0.

[foongabasthor]

thank you berkeleyguy

[rdubahrens]

Love the Hitchens videos! Keep 'em coming.

[nyomythus]

Good post -- thanks :)

[UzbekUkeleleist]

Christopher Hitchens + Charlie Rose = greatness every time.

Thanks again for posting.

[CanterburyCat]

Yes. I'm watching and I like them.

[shystylzyt]

Fantastic, looking forward to parts 2 & 3. Keep up the great work.