Blindness on Iraq War "Patriotism" by Jacob G. Hornberger!
(2020-07-10 at 15:32:09 )

Blindness on Iraq War "Patriotism" by Jacob G. Hornberger!

An op-ed in yesterdays New York Times by Democrat Tammy Ducksworth demonstrates that when it comes to "patriotism," liberals are as morally blind as conservatives.

Ms Duckworths op-ed goes after conservative Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson, who recently questioned Ms Duckworths patriotism by suggesting that she did not love her country. Naturally, Ms Duckworth, who lost her legs while serving as a soldier in the United States military in Iraq, took umbrage over Mr. Carlsons attack and responded quite vociferously in her op-ed.

Much of the controversy involves meaningless exchanges that regularly take place between Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives. That is mostly because both leftists and rights believe in the welfare-warfare state way of life.

But there is one aspect of Ms Duckworths op-ed that deserves addressing because it so clearly shows that when it comes to war, the left-wing is as morally obtuse as the right wing.

Ms Duckworth writes:

Even knowing how my tour in Iraq would turn out, even knowing that I would lose both my legs in a battlefield just north of Baghdad in late 2004, I would do it all over again. Because if there is anything that my ancestors service taught me, it is the importance of protecting our founding values, including every United States of Americans right to speak out.

So while I would put on my old uniform and go to war all over again to protect the right of Tucker Carlson and Donald Trump to say offensive things on TV and Twitter..

What Ms Duckworth obviously still has not come to the terms with is that her military service in Iraq had absolute nothing to do with protecting the right of freedom of speech of the United States of American people. That is because neither the Iraqi regime nor the Iraqi people were threatening the freedom of speech of the United States of American people.

What Ms Duckworth obviously still does not recognize is that it was the United States government that was the aggressor in the Iraq War. She was part of a military force - the most powerful in history - that attacked and then occupied an impoverished Third World country that had never attacked and then occupied the United States or even threatened to do so.

Yes, I know, United States officials called the operation "Operation Iraqi Freedom." But that was just propaganda. The operation had nothing to do with bringing freedom to Iraq, any more than it did with protecting the right to Americans to exercise freedom of speech. The purpose of the operation was to replace Iraqi dictator (and former United States partner and ally) Saddam Hussein with another United States stooge."

Moreover, let us not forget that every United States soldier who served in Iraq, including Ms Duckworth, was serving in an illegal war.

It was illegal given that there was no congressional declaration of war against Iraq, as the United States Constitution requires.

It was also illegal under international law because it violated the principle against wars of aggression established by the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal.

Let us also not forget about the countless Iraqis who were killed in the process. By being deprived of their lives, they were also deprived of their right of freedom of speech.

Leftists and rightists can engage in their meaningless debates on "patriotism" all they want.

Just leave out the part that holds that invading and occupying a country that has never attacked the United States protects the right of Americans to exercise freedom of speech because that just is not true.

Reprinted here with permission from Mr. Jacob G. Hornberger of The Future of Freedom Foundation!! Their Great Website!!