A few days ago I posted the famous picture of the Chinese baby crying in the bombed-out Shanghai railroad station.
There’s another picture, perhaps just as powerful, of a child in a similarly tragic situation. I want to urge you to go take a look at that photo and its caption, and read carefully the few lines of text underneath, and don’t miss the comments. It’ll only take a few seconds, and it’s more important than anything you’ll find over here. Go there now.
1
By JR
Richard,
This is a very nice and moral post but I thought you just said you supported the invasion of Iraq from the beginning? Is it just me or are you sending mixed signals?
January 22, 2005 @ 6:48 pm | Comment
2
By richard
Go back and read what I said, To reiterate (and listen carefully):
Like many liberals (such as Josh Marshall, Mark Kleiman and Kevin Drum) I supported the initial initiative to invade. Almost immediately afterwards, when I saw how we had failed in every way to plan for the invasion, I became violently opposed to the whole thing, admitted I made a mistake and declared the war one of the great disasters in American history.
I remain totally opposed to the invasion and our occupation. Where I am, admittedly, ambivalent is where to go from here. We are stuck there, we destroyed a lot of things and people, and we are responsible for the misery we wrought. We can’t just walk away and let mass butchery take over the country. And that seems to me what the leaders of the insurgency (and it’s important to distinguish them from the many who have joined in after the horrors of Abu Ghraib) stand for — butchery of “enemies” and a return to brutal minority tyrrany.
This may lead you to say, “Well, if you are against the insurgents, then you are for the occupation.” I am certainly not “for” the occupation and want it to end as soon as possible. But as I said, we can’t just walk out now. We’ve got to help protect the people we’ve left vulnerable and give them the tools to take over for themselves.
Executive Summary: Originally in favor of a coordinated, well planned and executed invasion. Against the invasion as it turned out. Against the occupation as it turned out. Against the mission as it turned out in every way.
As another blogger so eloquently put it a few weeks ago:
And, before you ask: no, I have no clue about how we can improve things in Iraq. I don’t have a single idea for how we can un-shit the bed, and I don’t hold out much hope that this whole bed-shitting episode is ever going to be brought to a lemony-fresh conclusion. I do, however, know who shit the bed, and have some sense of how frequently he shits there.
January 22, 2005 @ 7:00 pm | Comment
3
By ACB
I know that pictures like this need to be seen to show the world exactly what kind of nightmare is being lived daily by the people of Iraq, but maybe there are times when journalists should put the cameras down and just write what he or she sees.
At the very least, I hope that this journalist is on a fixed retainer and isn’t getting paid per picture. You shouldn’t be making money off of things like this.
In 50 year time, when we look at puctures of people fleeing the New York attacks, I hope also show see these kind of pictures to remind us that when we ‘took the fight to the enemy’ we didn’t defeat them, we became them.
January 23, 2005 @ 4:41 am | Comment
4
By JR
“I know that pictures like this need to be seen to show the world exactly what kind of nightmare is being lived daily by the people of Iraq, but maybe there are times when journalists should put the cameras down and just write what he or she sees.”
A photo can tell a much better story. The Japanese or Chinese words for photo are also the same as “Write Reality”
“In 50 year time, when we look at puctures of people fleeing the New York attacks, I hope also show see these kind of pictures to remind us that when we ‘took the fight to the enemy’ we didn’t defeat them, we became them.”
I read a similar expression before, but it still sums it up pretty well.
January 23, 2005 @ 5:37 am | Comment
5
By Ellen
Dear Richard,
May I respectfully ask that when you post a link to blogspot or other site blocked in China that you anonymouse or otherwise proxy serve the link? Thanks for your consideration. Sometimes even those proxy servers are blocked but if the link comes from a foreign server they usually work.
January 23, 2005 @ 2:23 pm | Comment
6
By richard
Sorry Ellen, I don’t think about the Firewall anymore. I’ll see what I can do.
January 23, 2005 @ 2:25 pm | Comment
7
By Jim Piccard
As a side note: I heard a proposal on NPR’s All Things Considered yesterday that shouldn’t be regarded flippantly: ask the Iraqi people to vote on whether we stay or not.
This isn’t as flippant as some might think. No matter how angry most Iraqi’s are about how the US has mishandled everything…i.e, essentially saving Defeat from the jaws of Victory and making their life miserable… there is also an under-current, especially in non-Sunni areas, that says the occupying powers shouldn’t leave until they’ve at least fixed some of the basic things.
It would also be possibly the only way to knock a major hole in the justification of the murderous insurgency; i.e, that they are there fighting American occupation (and those who cooperate with American’s, yada yada). We are in the ridiculous position in Iraq where our enemies want..in fact, need, us to stay…and for the same reason, our friends reluctantly want us to go. That situation cannot be changed militarily; in fact, at the moment, it’s still getting worse. We are, in fact, losing–which means Iraq and the world is losing.
The only way to ‘manage’ (don’t ask me what I mean by that word!) this situation, is to take away some excuses. If the next vote in a couple of months is an open vote, on the American’s staying (for six more months, say), or leaving within six months….it will cause a true national debate within Iraq; within the Shia, Sunni, and other groups (heck, even the Kurds); take away the only real internal recruitment tool that the insurgents have….and yet it’s real. If the vote is to stay for six months…then every six months another vote is taken; EVERYONE in Iraq knows that the occupation is not permanent; there’s a de-facto time focus that everyone….good guys, bad guys, everyone..knows about. No excuses any more.
If the vote the very first time is, 51% of those who make it to the polls…alive….say, leave…then we leave. It’s their decision; their risk/benefit/safety calculation. And an insurgency that threatens the voters on that election will be looked at differently than the current one, since now, many Iraqi’s do, in fact, consider any vote taken under occupation as not legitimate. But this type of vote, on the most important issue, would be a tad different. And an insurgency who threatens it is not going to get as much support as they do now.
And if we’re asked to leave in an orderly fashion…maybe the only orderly thing we’ve done there, since the statue fell….then we leave with our honor in tact…and the Iraqui’s have a new found sense of honor, and pride, in what they just did. (This is before the reality sets in; but that happens to all; and they know the stakes…certainly better than the Christian Talabanist in the White House does).
Here’s the NPR link:
http://tinyurl.com/3kfns
jp
January 23, 2005 @ 9:47 pm | Comment
8
By richard
Jim, I really appreciate that comment and wish more people understood that, as much as they may hate us, many of them realize that the alternative may be even worse. So yes, an orderly withdrawal would be the best thing that could happen under the circumstances. Leaving in defeat and chaos would be the worst thing — for the Iraqis.
January 23, 2005 @ 9:54 pm | Comment
9
By bellevue
I missed that All Things Considered!
January 24, 2005 @ 3:07 am | Comment