NPR reported on All Things Considered today that the United States’ task force has officially called off the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The report also included the White House’s rationalization that the war in Iraq was justified because of Saddam Hussein’s “intent” to procure such weapons. Let’s take this logic to its natural conclusion.
Saddam’s intent was to procure weapons which morally and ethically justifies invading the country he leads getting thousands of soldiers and civilians killed in the process.
So, intent, in this universe, becomes the primary motivator in making decisions. It is, in fact, more important than actual actions.
To take this line of “logic” to it’s natural conclusion, I would, then, be allowed to kill someone who looked at me the wrong way because it was clear, to me anyway, that his intent was to do me harm so, in reality, my actions are not homicide but self defense.
Are you buying this?
The logic is perfect but the conclusion is completely and utterly wrong. It just makes me wonder when we stopped thinking.
* Travis Bickle’s “Are you talking to me?” monologue in Taxi Driver not only made Robert De Niro famous it also epitomizes the Bush administration’s thought process.
I tried bringing the lack of WMD’s in Iraq and the lack of connetion iraq has to osama/September 11th on a conservative who supposedly wanted a “debate”. Not only was there no answer to my quetion, but I got an unsolicited rant blaming it on the following 3 topics:
1. the monkey…um…I meant President was mis informed by the CIA on everything since inauguration.
2. “Moral values” and “the breakdown of the American family”
3. Hillary Clinton
After trying to converse intelligently with these people on several different sites, I found these three topics are the stock answer for any question put to them that they can not answer. Doesn’t matter if the question was about WMD’s or how to make a nice dry martini.
You should check out “Banana Republicans,” especially the chapter titled “The Echo Chamber.” The book is an interesting view on modern manipulation of public opinion.
We stopped thinking in 2000, when we elected the lowest common denominator, AKA George W.