Posted on 04/22/2003 4:54:43 AM PDT by Beenliedto
Poor Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity, a radio talk-show host and Fox News whiner, has a one-rut mind. Every criticism or dissent, no matter what the subject, the topic or the source, is a left-wing attack against his hero, George W. Bush.
Well, what can you expect from an immature groupie? Every time he tries to think, his face reflects the pain of the effort. But he really showed his emptiness recently when he said that criticism of the United States failing to guard the Iraqi National Museum was — you guessed it — just left-wing soreheads who are mad that President Bush's war has been so successful.
Give me a break. That museum is one of the five greatest museums on Earth. It contained treasures that are the heritage of mankind. There are 140,000 U.S. military personnel in Iraq. We've protected all the oil fields, north and south. Do you really believe we couldn't have spared two fire teams to guard the irreplaceable artifacts of the beginnings of Western civilization? Of course we could have. Somebody just goofed.
This is not a left/right, liberal/conservative issue. It's not a question of patriots versus traitors, as the morons among the neoconservative crowd try to paint every human being who refuses to click his heels and salute their guru, Richard Perle, and their emperor, George Bush. This is a cultural issue. Three great treasures — the museum, the National Library and the largest collection of Koranic writings in the world — were looted and burned. Since we had destroyed the Iraqi government, it was our responsibility to protect them.
I don't blame President Bush. I'm sure he's unaware of their existence. After all, he brags about not reading. But what would we say if the crowds who have rioted in Washington in the past had been allowed to loot and burn the Smithsonian and the Library of Congress? Do you think we would have accepted an excuse that there weren't enough cops to protect those two treasures?
One hates to disillusion the permanently adolescent among us, but this tiny sliver of life in which we are participating is a dot on a long line of human civilization. One day, we will be as forgotten as the Assyrians, and hopefully some museum will have artifacts from our brief stay on the stage of history.
There is a definitely a whiff of anti-intellectualism — so characteristic of fascist states — in the air. Beware of bully boys who worship the military and scoff at museums and libraries. Beware of people whose limited brains see everyone as either an ally or an enemy. Beware of people who can't tell the difference between patriotism and military conquest. Beware of people so stupid and ignorant that they accept anything and everything the political and the media demagogues tell them.
Thomas Jefferson, who would have been outraged by the loss of the museum and the library, said, "Those who expect to be ignorant and free expect what never was and never will be." Amen cubed.
I'm no longer concerned about liberals or conservatives, leftists or rightists. I just pray to God for a non-ideologue with a three-digit IQ. If we don't elevate the level of intelligence and integrity of our government, we are going to end up floating on the cesspool of history.
As for anyone being disappointed that the war was conducted rapidly and successfully, that's bull. I was opposed to the war, but I'm damned glad it was quick and there were as few casualties as there have been. Every anti-war person I know of or have read feels the same way. You have to be a really sick puppy to imagine that anyone would want to see Americans die just because they disagree with the policy that put them in harm's way. Let me spell it out for the mentally impaired: People are anti-war because they do not wish to see anyone die — our soldiers, their soldiers, our civilians or their civilians. Anti-war is pro-life.
© 2003 by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
Supposedly we invited France, Germany, Hollywood, and the DNC to send in their stormtroopers to defend these sites, but they were AWOL.
It was IRAQI'S who looted and burned, you idiot, NOT American GI's.
They were there to fight a war, not guard what YOU may consider "precious resources belonging to all of mankind" or some such drivel.
You want security guards? Call Pinkerton, you ass.
I don't believe anyone has said this, but you will surely agree we look bad when we say this is not about oil, then ensure the oil fields are protected and ignore everything else. Not good strategic thinking IMHO...
If the Iraqi people don't value their own heritage, why should US soliders put their lives at risk doing so? As I stated before, neither the Japanese nor the Germans ever looted their museums after WWII.
I enjoy hearing Mark Levin on the show - he's a sharp as they come. BTW, if you want to ask him to stop coming on the show, just Freepmail him at "holdonnow." He checks in here a lot...
We had a list of sites that were to be avoided in bombing and artillery attacks (including the Baghdad Museum). You will note that the museum building suffered no bomb damage. What we did not know is that the Iraqis, unlike the Japanese, Germans, French, Italians, and all other nations we have liberated and/or conquered, would LOOT THEIR OWN CULTURE. Myself, I still say that the museum theft was an inside job.
And I do not care what the left says about the oil. When the funds for the oil are turned over to the Iraqis, they will simply move on to something else.
If the Marines had fired in the air to stop looting, then the press would have reported that we were firing on innocent civilians.
If we had ringed the area with tanks, then the press would have carped that we didn't protect a mosque 4 blocks away.
If we had announced ahead of time that no looting would be tolerated, the press would have attacked us as unsympathetic to the plight of impoverished Iraqis.
Once again, I will point out to you that the military was under fire from the building everyone expected them to protect. In addition, it is now obvious that much of this stuff was removed prior to the war.
And the fact of the matter is that 90% of Americans do not understand the importance of the artifacts in this museum, so whining about it isn't really going to give the left much traction.
It is nothing but an effort to make a scandal out of something that was unexpected and difficult to prevent.
I've heard/read nothing that suggests otherwise. What sources do you have?
He's Irish.
The Great One has a great wit. I think he worked on Meese's staff back in the day.
That is not only pathetic in its effort to demean President Bush-but an incredibly cheap and unfair shot at our President's intelligence.
This guy has an ax to grind with Sean, as I see it, that is his problem.
Ya have to wonder how many Iraqis, who are and were starving, ever even got to venture into this museum of antiquities.
I suppose if MY family were starving-I would have swiped a 2000 yr old vase to hock myself. Maybe our soldiers, upon seeing the intense poverty and hunger of the Iraqi people, felt the same way.
Dear Reese-tough.
Can you remember when it was the police who were at fault in the LA riots? It seems only logical to me that if we had fired on the looters, even if in the air, the exact opposite position would have been taken.
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