Democrats do not see the US as "war criminals" like you do.
If that's what you call our military then you are way out on the far left fringe. You may have a point sometimes, but you are fundamentally wrong because all warfare includes collateral damage, mistakes and atrocities. Also, it wasn't as if Saddam were some innocent guy. He did ask for it. And if Bush had handled things right, it might have ended up as a net positive for the world. But Bush really blew it and was very dishonest and incompetent about it. He also abused his war powers to cheat in an election or two, calling anyone who asked questions a "traitor" in essence. That was really evil.
We democrats recognize there is dark part of the American psyche (indeed the human psyche) which is capable of atrocious misdeed, whether they be deliberate or not. We saw that at My Lai, Abu Graiab, during the McCArthy era, in the hateful words and faces of the smearvets, Michael Savage and Anne Coulter.
But eventhough we detest such people and things we do not "hate America" at all as the rightwing claims. Nor do we "blame America first". On the contrary, we value our democracy and freedom much more than the rightwing seems to, and only blame certain wrong-headed dishonest leaders, not our country itself.
Democrats want a strong defense, the best in the world. But we want to use our military only in smart and sane ways, only when necessary and then with careful prep so as to minimize the risk to our troops. Plus, if we do use the military we want it to be short, effective and successful. |
