Comments on: McCain the Anti-War Warrior?

By: Bithead

Bithead — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 23:34:00 +0000

You're missing it, guys.
Anyone who has been involved in a war... any warrior, hates war. The difference is, they know that there are some things worse than war.

By: Michael

Michael — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 19:14:59 +0000

Can anyone seriously doubt that a man who spent 5-1/2 years being tortured by the Viet Cong hates war?

I'm with legion, I would believe that he hates torture, and I would believe that he hates the Viet Cong. But at that point, he was out of the "war" itself. His torture started when, and in some way was a result of, his involvement in the "war" ending. This, I think, is a better explanation for McCain's seeming desire to use war to prevent despotism. That without "war", there will be violence that you cannot prevent, and it is better to have violence that you have some say in, than violence that you don't.

By: yetanotherjohn

yetanotherjohn — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 19:09:57 +0000

Wouldn't the logical equivalence be that Yglesias loves dictators. Since Yglesias is railing against someone who has wanted to depose dictators, then he is making it harder to depose dictators. How can Yglesias not love dictators and say what he says?

By: legion

legion — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 18:24:44 +0000

Can anyone seriously doubt that a man who spent 5-1/2 years being tortured by the Viet Cong hates war?

Oh, one most certainly can doubt. One can imagine that such an experience would give someone serious anger and frustration issues, a bad temper, and an eye towards seeing war as a surrogate for vengeance.