John Thompson on The Hartmann Report

[John Thompson]

There was no reflection at all after 9-11. No one asking, "Why might we have deserved this?" Also, after Pearl Harbor, we went to war with Japan, the nation that had actually attacked us! American's jingoistic demand for revenge, against someone, ANYONE, is exactly the kind of attitude that led to 9-11 in the first place. I recall all the "These colors don't run" and those maudlin "Support Our Troops" bumper stickers and the nausea they induced in me. It is a stain on America that we did those wars, and there is no way they can be justified. Our lust for revenge does not justify the loss of life and property both Afghanistan and Iraq suffered at our hands.

[docrhw Weil]

Oh I agree, John. Americans seem to be much better looking at effects than at causes. The 9/11 response was pure emotional reaction, and P.H. seems to have been the closest parallel to that, though there are certainly others. But getting people to question why they were hurt is always pretty hard, as nobody wants to admit they were wrong. Anyway, I think it is pretty normal for most people that when they are hit they will hit back. It may be at the wrong person and for the wrong reason, such as imprisoning the Japanese-Americans or killing Sikhs because they are wearing turbans, but it happens. While I believe the American public demanded some sort of immediate warlike response, you know what that dragged out to in Afghanistan, and it was criminally stupid (if profitable). As for Iraq...sadly, one Russian diplomat was right when she asked about that to try and deflect what her country is doing in the Ukraine. Bush and Cheney should be in prison, but good luck having a real discussion on this topic with an America which was also neatly deflected to "supporting our heroes". Almost nobody is asking why these victims trying to serve the nation (let alone the civilians who lived there) were endangered, wounded or killed. As I said, it's all about effects, not causes.