Brumar - Sorry I am just getting to this post now:
Evil does exist and is not a simplistic, childish concept.
I am sorry to say that "evil" is such a simplistic and childish concept as to be ridiculous when used in international politics, at least in modern western societies.
If you look back at the beginning of this rift between US and Europe, you will see numerous objections to his use of "He is evil, we are good" etc rhetoric in a strange argument to rally other countries against Saddam. That is about when people started calling Bush a "moron", I believe...
While most people have tendencies to both good and evil
Excuse me, but this is all a lot of black-and-white religious talk. What is "good"? What is "evil"? Which best describes a woman who does prostitution to feed her children? Which describes one who put a bread knife through the heart of the half-brother who tries to rape her? Were the Japanese kamikazes "good" or "evil"? Is a commander "good" or "evil" as he ambushed thousands from the other army and orders them all killed on the spot?
We do not have to agree on everything and it is OK if you believe, like your president, that there are "evil" countries, regimes, or people who need to be vaporised off this planet however great the cost to especially people who will be killed in the process.
As for myself, I believe there is no such thing as "good" or "evil", but there are choices we all make depending on our situations, we believe is the right goal for us and those around us, and what we feel is the honorable/right way to reach that goal. Then again, there are the complete lunatics, but that is another issue.
I would say no man who is a complete lunatic can stay at the top of power as long as Saddam has, so ruling that part out, I would say he is a dangerous and agressive tyrant with expansionist goals.
Saddam is clearly one of the most wholly evil people we know of. It is relevant when considering his claims versus someone like Colin Powell or Bush.
Have it your way. Still, you might be hard pressed to explain your own country's complicity, and indeed, open support of this "most wholly evil" character against Iran. Or was he "most wholly good" then? :-)
But I'd be surprised if Pinochet took his children to his prisons to watch the torture.
Read a bit and you might be surprised as to just how cruel Pinochet's regime was.
news.bbc.co.uk
There is no excusing Pinochet's killings, tortures, the thousand or so people seized from their homes who are still missing. Try to explain why the US supported Pinochet's coup against the democratically elected Allende, and all you will find is that Allende was slightly on the left and that was deemed "unfavourable" by the American state. |
