Monday, November 20, 2006

A Grotesque Conflict of Interest

A lot of wars go on long after the military conflict is decided. That typically happens when the loser refuses to accept reality. This is especially true when the loser is the same politician who launched the misadventure in the first place.

From the last century we have the awful examples of the Kaiser, Tojo and Hitler. Countless thousands, probably millions, died because they wouldn't surrender even when their defeat was obvious.

Today we have George Bush, Tony Blair and a gaggle of lesser political leaders who continue dragging their own people and others through failed wars because the alternative is personally unacceptable. These politicians are in a horrible conflict of interest, stubbornly postponing the verdict of history at the expense of the lives of others. It makes their very nations hostage to their folly.

We trust our leaders to resort to war only as a last alternative. Look how freely they betray our trust and, in the process, perpetrate a very grotesque conflict of interest.

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