It’s been a while since I wrote about the middle east situation, for a number of reasons: it’s incredibly depressing; everyone’s already made up their minds and writing won’t do anything but piss people off; I’m not entirely comfortable in the company of people I seem to be agreeing with these days, on this at least.
Dan Savage helps some on that last point.
There’s also the small matter of our values being superior–can we lefties get behind that concept? While we often fall short in practice, in theory, the equality of the sexes, religious freedom, the separation of church and state, tolerance, and secularism are superior to religious fascism as practiced in Saudi Arabia and secular fascism as practiced in Iraq.
He ultimately comes to tthe conclusion that although war is inevitable, and in the long-run will do good, it shouldn’t be now because it will destroy the UN. I understand his point, and can come closer to agreeing with it than with most current anti-war positions, but I do think he’s wrong — the UN may alreadh yave been destroyed, but backing away now will just ensure it. The Security Council is the only part of the UN with any teeth, and it’s apparently not willing to use them.