Stupid Comparisons, Yet Again
THE WAR ON TERRA (tm) IS NOT ANOTHER WORLD WAR TWO. It's not. Really. And saying so again and again won't make it so. Not that certain people aren't trying very, very hard.
A few notes:
1. The Soviet Union won the war in Europe. They fought most of the battles with the Wehrmacht, and took most of the casualties. In contrast, the US won the war in the Pacific (though most of the Japanese Army was tied down in the occupation of China, the US Navy, Marine Corps, and Army carried out the bulk of the offensive operations against Japanese forces in the Pacific).
2. The Normandy invasion, massive though it was, was pretty much denouement. That statement is not meant to minimize the sacrifices, sufferings, or heroism of any of the soldiers and sailors (on any side) who fought at Normandy, in the hedgerows, across France, in the Ardennes, and to the Elbe. However, the Normandy invasion occurred in June of 1944--the war in Europe ended in May the following year. That's eleven months for those of you, who, like me, attended public schools. Compare that to June 1941 (when the Germans invaded the USSR) to May 1945.
3. The Middle East is not, I repeat NOT, the "critical front" in the War On Terra (tm). AFGHANISTAN was. Remember that place? Also, you might want to try Pakistan. But step back from that for a minute and consider this: there can be no critical front in a war on terrorism. There can be no front lines at all. Terrorism is not a state, it has no conventional army, and, as such, a "war on terrorism" (yes, it really is that dumb) has NO FRONT LINES.
Put another way, this ain't WWII. It's not even close. I know that Bush wants to score some cheap points by invoking the 50th anniversary of D-Day, but you'd think that his crew would be a little more savvy than they've been. They make my head hurt. Ugh.
THE WAR ON TERRA (tm) IS NOT ANOTHER WORLD WAR TWO. It's not. Really. And saying so again and again won't make it so. Not that certain people aren't trying very, very hard.
"He'll say we're fighting the broader war on terror throughout the world, but much like in World War II, when Europe became the critical front in that war, the greater Middle East is the critical front in the war on terror," the official said.
--snip--
"The president's speech is going to focus in the most detail yet on the nature of the enemy we face in the broader war on terror -- why ... this kind of clash of ideologies is a defining moment for our country and the civilized world, much like it was in World War II," the White House official said.
Bush, who is in a tight election year battle against Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry (news - web sites), has seen his job approval ratings slump to new lows amid public concerns about U.S. involvement in Iraq, where more than 800 American soldiers have died since a March 2003 invasion that U.S. officials once likened to the Allied invasion of Europe.
Undeterred by political pressure, the president has donned the mantel of war president by vowing to keep U.S. troops in Iraq until the country is stable and mounting a series war-related speeches that will include a June 6 appearance at the site of the 1944 Normandy invasion.
A few notes:
1. The Soviet Union won the war in Europe. They fought most of the battles with the Wehrmacht, and took most of the casualties. In contrast, the US won the war in the Pacific (though most of the Japanese Army was tied down in the occupation of China, the US Navy, Marine Corps, and Army carried out the bulk of the offensive operations against Japanese forces in the Pacific).
2. The Normandy invasion, massive though it was, was pretty much denouement. That statement is not meant to minimize the sacrifices, sufferings, or heroism of any of the soldiers and sailors (on any side) who fought at Normandy, in the hedgerows, across France, in the Ardennes, and to the Elbe. However, the Normandy invasion occurred in June of 1944--the war in Europe ended in May the following year. That's eleven months for those of you, who, like me, attended public schools. Compare that to June 1941 (when the Germans invaded the USSR) to May 1945.
3. The Middle East is not, I repeat NOT, the "critical front" in the War On Terra (tm). AFGHANISTAN was. Remember that place? Also, you might want to try Pakistan. But step back from that for a minute and consider this: there can be no critical front in a war on terrorism. There can be no front lines at all. Terrorism is not a state, it has no conventional army, and, as such, a "war on terrorism" (yes, it really is that dumb) has NO FRONT LINES.
Put another way, this ain't WWII. It's not even close. I know that Bush wants to score some cheap points by invoking the 50th anniversary of D-Day, but you'd think that his crew would be a little more savvy than they've been. They make my head hurt. Ugh.
posted by Jude at 1:12 PM
