The Onion Predicted Iraq War Fallout?
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Comedy, History, The War On Terrorism, WarSatire at its most prescient comes in the form of a “Point/Counterpoint” discussion published in The Onion on March 26, 2003.
Here’s the “Point”, or “This War Will Destabilize The Entire Mideast Region And Set Off A Global Shockwave Of Anti-Americanism”…
George W. Bush may think that a war against Iraq is the solution to our problems, but the reality is, it will only serve to create far more.This war will not put an end to anti-Americanism; it will fan the flames of hatred even higher. It will not end the threat of weapons of mass destruction; it will make possible their further proliferation. And it will not lay the groundwork for the flourishing of democracy throughout the Mideast; it will harden the resolve of Arab states to drive out all Western (i.e. U.S.) influence.
If you thought Osama bin Laden was bad, just wait until the countless children who become orphaned by U.S. bombs in the coming weeks are all grown up. Do you think they will forget what country dropped the bombs that killed their parents? In 10 or 15 years, we will look back fondly on the days when there were only a few thousand Middle Easterners dedicated to destroying the U.S. and willing to die for the fundamentalist cause. From this war, a million bin Ladens will bloom.
And what exactly is our endgame here? Do we really believe that we can install Gen. Tommy Franks as the ruler of Iraq? Is our arrogance and hubris so great that we actually believe that a U.S. provisional military regime will be welcomed with open arms by the Iraqi people? Democracy cannot possibly thrive under coercion. To take over a country and impose one’s own system of government without regard for the people of that country is the very antithesis of democracy. And it is doomed to fail.
A war against Iraq is not only morally wrong, it will be an unmitigated disaster.
So what’s the “Counterpoint?” Three words, “No It Won’t.”
Click over to read the whole thing then come back here and discuss.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 21st, 2007 and is filed under Comedy, History, The War On Terrorism, War. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
March 21st, 2007 at 1:27 pm
Sadly, too many people either didn’t listen to these comments, or dismissed them out of hand. The “Onion”was not the only publication to print this kind of evaluation. And many of us stated similar views without knowing what had been printed. To us, it made perfect sense.
March 21st, 2007 at 4:07 pm
Yup, the above is pretty much exactly what I was saying from even before Bush invaded. Some of us don’t need hindsight for 20/20 vision.