The Poor Farm: Several Times A Week

Wednesday, May 09, 2012

Several Times A Week

Ted Rall demonstrates just how much of a loon he really is. Equating the 9/11 victims to terrorists? Moral equivalency? Really? And apparently the attack was justified in your eyes?

Man, you need help.

8 comments:

lisa said...: Amen to that!; 6:03 PM
Ted Rall said...: The Obama Administration keeps saying that they're killing "suspected militants" in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In fact, they're innocent civilians.

Get it now?

9/11 was evil.

So are the US drone attacks.; 7:49 PM
Jeffro said...: Wow. Thank you for your comment, Mr. Rall. I understand where you are coming from, but still disagree.

I am not particularly in favor of drone attacks, and as you have probably guessed, we are in agreement in our distaste for our President and his policies.

However I do not feel there is a moral equivalence between civilians in a war zone being killed versus the citizens on the planes and in the towers. Certainly there are parallels, but the use of implementation method does not retroactively justify the usage of the other.; 7:57 PM
Earl said...: The problem with using area type weapons means you will have civilian deaths, the terrorists attacked to make a large hole in our honor, our hearts and make us fearful. My honor is fine, I am sad for those that lost their lives, but I am not fearful of the terrorists, I only fear my government in its excesses in pretending to protect me. Our drone strikes are very expensive, don't always kill the proper targets and only build hate for Americans that seem afraid to fight face to face. I would rather flood Afghanistan with the American fighters and Christians. Which might not be the same.; 10:22 PM
Jeffro said...: Well, yeah, pretty much Earl. I'm for thinking using the drones is a moral copout, but once you've got more standing if you're really there. Strange thinking, perhaps, and that's also why we need to just get the hell out. All these mental gymnastics with a hamstrung military that is there for political purposes - it's past time to bail.; 10:28 PM
Ted Rall said...: Just to elaborate on my thinking for this cartoon a bit more, I was watched the umpteenth propaganda report stating that a US drone had killed "suspected militants" in Pakistan. Which made ask: suspected of what? suspected by whom? Then I thought, what if Al Qaeda portrayed their strike against us the same way? Thus this cartoon.

The two atrocities--9/11 and the US drone strikes--share some similarities.

Both rely on suppressing empathy for civilian victims. They both express token regrets--sorry, gotta break an egg to make an omelet. They are both indiscriminate--by their nature, both attacks occur with little regard for or knowledge of who is at risk. And both are counterproductive: 9/11 prompted two invasions of Muslim countries, and the drone strikes are an Al Qaeda recruiting tool.

Are they equivalent? Not à la carte. Drones don't take out 3,000 people at a time. But something close to that number have died in toto--yes, innocent civilians. And that doesn't count the two million civilians killed in Afghanistan and Iraq. So, if you want to be technical, we have the moral low ground. The gutter, really.

Considering that Islamists are batshit crazy, I hate living in a country whose morals are below theirs.

One point that gets lost, by the way: Afghans and Pakistanis aren't scared of us because of our drones. I've been there, many times, talked to many people. They think we're pussies who are too afraid to risk our lives by fighting man-to-man, the Pashtun way. Drone strikes are actually making them less afraid of us.; 11:30 AM
Ted Rall said...: Sorry, but I also forgot to say: Afghans and Pakistanis aren't living in a war zone any more than the people of lower Manhattan. No war has been declared by the U.S. since 1941.; 11:31 AM
Jeffro said...: Thank you for your elaboration. Apparently we are in agreement more than I realized in several areas. The drone strikes have struck me as chickenshit, and that we have not actually declared war.

Plus, you do have to paint with a broad brush in your work, and I do it deliberately as well to be satirical.

Interesting. While I often find myself disagreeing with you, I also find your cartoons do make me think.

Once again, thanks for dropping by and contributing.; 11:39 AM