Tuesday, February 01, 2005

Hitchens Almost Gets it Right

In an essay for Slate yesterday, Beating a Dead Parrot, Christopher Hitchens does a good job of spelling out exactly why Iraq is not Vietnam, much to the consternation, I'm sure, of Slate's predominantly liberal audience.

But then Hitchens says this [emphasis added]:
I suppose it's obvious that I was not a supporter of the Vietnam War. Indeed, the principles of the antiwar movement of that epoch still mean a good deal to me. That's why I retch every time I hear these principles recycled, by narrow minds or in a shallow manner, in order to pass off third-rate excuses for Baathism or jihadism.
What "principles" are those, Chris? Giving aid and comfort to a vicious enemy? Burning flags and spitting on returning troops? Abandoning allies to the brutality of the Northern regime?