Ingrates*
By Jamelle Bouie - Nov 19th, 2008 at 9:31 am- insensitive; indifferent; unsympathetic: They have a callous attitude toward the sufferings of others.
- a stupid, mean, or contemptible person.
Ladies and gentlemen, Andy McCarthy (via Davenoon):
Thousands of American lives and hundreds of billions in taxpayer funds have been expended to provide Iraqis the opportunity to live freely. And this despite the facts that (a) the U.S. interest in Iraqi democracy remains tenuous (our interest was the elimination of Saddam’s terror-mongering, weapons-proliferating regime), and (b) Americans were assured, when the nation-building enterprise commenced, that oil-rich Iraq would underwrite our sacrifices on its behalf. Yet, to be blunt, the Iraqis remain ingrates. That stubborn fact complicates everything.
Five years ago, the United States–without provocation–invaded and occupied Iraq under the banner of “freedom” and “liberty.” Since then, two million Iraqis (many of them children) have been killed or displaced by fighting and civil war, and millions more live without adequate electricity, clean water, or health care.
Yes, new schools have been built, but the imposition of harsh Sharia law in many parts of Iraq–illegal under Saddam–has left countless women and girls unable to attend them, for fear of punishment, including death. Ethnic and religious hostilities have divided communities, neighborhoods, and families, while political disputes (and the two are often connected) have claimed tens of thousands of lives. We have–in five short years–completely destabilized Iraqi society, torn its social fabric to shreds, and plunged the country into utter chaos. So, all things considered, Iraqis have every right to be ungrateful, indeed, they have absolutely nothing to be grateful for.
Of course, McCarthy is too much of a contemptible asshole to understand that much. No, by his standards, Iraqis should feel honored that we destroyed their country. I mean, after all, we did it to help them. I mean, they may not have asked for it, but we won’t hold that against them. It was our pleasure.
* Yes I stole the title.
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