Next move on the meme chess board: Are you ready to watch the slaughter in Iraq?

Here’s a common propaganda trick: take the weakest argument from an opposing view and beat the crap out of it. This sometimes works, but it often makes you look like a huckster, especially if who you are speaking to can think for themselves, which is usually the case unless you have lots of fans who delight in calling themselves ditto-heads.

I’ve never been a subscriber to that strategy because 1.)I’m not a propagandist and 2.)I’m sincerely interested in finding answers.

So I’ve heard the following argument a few times now, and it’s a challenging one. It comes from a view opposite mine, but I think it’s worth addressing. It’s the latest meme that is being used to challenge anyone who wants to remove US troops from Iraq. I refer to this question: If you want the US troops out of Iraq, are you ready to watch the slaughter that will happen when they leave?

Often, the people making this argument are those who supported the invasion in the first place, and while that’s annoying, it doesn’t take the strength away from the question. Regarding Iraq’s stability, it does make me wonder what it was that Saddam did that the US military cannot do. Is it that the nation is now freer, and with freedom of mobility and open borders, a nation becomes harder to police? Could be.

Here’s what I do know: Iraq is around 6,000 miles away from any US soil, and there has been no evidence to date to support any of the official reasons given to go to war. A lot of slimy corporations and slimier people made money from this war that has cost hundreds of thousands of lives, not to mention a countless amount of money that could have gone to something else.

One more thing: I just never can get into war. Killing a complete stranger because someone else told you to, or offered you some money to, just seems wrong. I know such a simple opinion won’t please people looking for brilliant wordplay, but I’m afraid they’ll have to deal with the simple truth rather than acrobatics of verbosity.

It comes down to practicality: the USA cannot stay there forever, so why pretend?

The Iraq War is a crime of potential. The war planners put a boulder at the top of the hill above a village. Then they leaned the US taxpayers up against it to hold it. “Don’t let go,” they warn, “If you do, people will die when that rock rolls down!” It’s true, but the criminal isn’t those who can bear a burden no longer, but those who set up the precarious situation.

So, am I ready to watch the slaughter? As I think through this question, maybe it’s unfair. If there’s going to be one then the only way to prevent it is to impose martial law, and then we’re back to I Can’t Believe It’s Not Saddam!(TM). If it does happen, I suggest the footage include a scrolling bar underneath of it: “This slaughter was made possible by the original invasion.”

No, I'm not ready to watch a slaughter. Not a future one, and not the current one.

I’m still in favor of withdrawing the US troops if for no other reason than they should be defending the USA, not defending Iraq. It’s a shame all the diplomatic bridges have long since been burnt and the few remaining allies are untrustworthy, or maybe the USA could get some help.

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Larry Nocella is the award-winning author of the novel Where Did This Come From? available at Amazon and Xlibris and other fine online book stores. Also, for a limited time, Where Did This Come From? is available as an eBook for only ONE DOLLAR. Visit Larry Nocella's website at www.LarryNocella.com.