A small number of people with a disproportionate access to the media have gone on record that the War for Iraq is wrong, arraying themselves against it with the catchy slogan “not in my name”. I was thinking about this the other day when Russel Wardlow posted a rant about it, which is better than I could have done:
Alright. I am fully prepared to allow for the fact that this war is Not in Your Name. Duly noted. The bombing, the soldiering, the shooting and the killing; all of these things are done with you having morally washed your hands of their responsibility. I’ll be sure to remember that.
…
When the people of Iraq breathe a collective sigh of relief and joy after Saddam, his sons and his cronies have shuffled off this mortal coil and ended their national nightmare, this will not be in your name.
When Iraq holds its first elections and begins to take those first tentative steps towards representative government, peace and prosperity, this will not be in your name.
I was reminded of it today, while reading a similar thought by Charles Johnson:
This moment is IN OUR NAME.
Those who sought to keep the Iraqi people in their living hell, who stood in the way of their liberation, and insisted that the US and Britain and Australia and our many other partners had no right to take action to defend both the Iraqis and ourselves: This was NOT IN YOUR NAME.
And we won?t forget where you stood, in your ignorance and fashion-driven hatred of America. We won?t forget.
I won’t forget. I hope nobody forgets the celebrity idiocy, and the fair-weather friends of the UN and NATO. I’d be interested to know the reaction of Iraqi movie audiences when they find out about it. Hollywood is probably dead there, and for quite a while. They worked hard for it, and they deserve it. French and German companies are going to get the cold shoulder, too.
