Who would be the patriots in such a situation? The American cooperators would consider themselves the patriots, pointing to the good things the Chinese, North Koreans, Cubans, and Venezuelans would be doing in America — e.g., bringing order and stability to American society. The American insurgents would consider themselves the patriots, pointing out that America was no place for foreign occupiers.

Of course, it’s impossible to know whether Hamid Ahmad would be alive today if the U.S. government had not invaded and occupied Iraq. But one thing is for sure: he would not have been killed by his own son for having cooperated with the U.S. invasion and occupation of his country.

So, you who support the war, take credit for your crimes. Don't try to cover them up with euphemisms that make it sound as if I, or others like me, or the nation as a whole, did this. It was you, and the politicians you support, who did it. And it is you and those politicians who should apologize to the young widows, the grieving mothers and fathers, and the orphans that you created.

Now the shoe is on the other foot, and liberals are bidden to hold their tongues as President Obama makes Bush’s wars his own. The usual Washington sellout is in gear.

It should not come as a surprise. America is now a one-party state. The one party is the Establishment party, which is also the war party. Unless you are willing to cheer permanent war for permanent peace, you cannot be a member of the Establishment.

if just war theory sanctifies the military invasion of a hostile foreign state then it also justifies the armed rebellion of individuals against their own state. If individuals acting in collective or solitary self-defense are justified in bombing Iraq because it is hostile to our well-being, then certainly we have the same right to bomb a White House that aggresses against us more egregiously and on a daily basis than does the Iraqi government. And, if innocent Americans are killed, if Obama has strapped nuns onto the White House balcony, well, then...libertarian just war theory exonerates me from blame. In short, just war theory sanctifies the right of violent revolution within your own state if it is hostile to your well being.

That’s the reality. That’s what U.S. troops are dying for. Not for freedom. Not for democracy. Not for the American way of life. They’re dying for a façade that covers up no-good, rotten, crooked, corrupt, murderous, and destructive enterprises that are taking our country down.

And it’s also what they’re killing, maiming, kidnapping, renditioning, and torturing people for. It’s what they’re destroying Iraq and Afghanistan for.

If the Pentagon withdrew from the Middle East, military officials know that people might well ask, Why stop there? Why not withdraw from Europe? After all, the Cold War ended long ago. Why not withdraw from Japan? It surrendered soon after the atomic bombs were dropped. Why not withdraw from Korea? The war there ended decades ago. Why not withdraw from Africa? What business do the troops have there?

The message of Georgia is clear. We need a top-to-bottom rethinking of American foreign policy. The American people’s interest lies in peace and free trade. Let others work out their own problems. Most of all, let’s keep the U.S. government from making the world’s problems worse than they already are.

Barnett’s “libertarian” defense of the war turns out to be nothing of the kind. This is reinforced by the fact that he neglects the libertarian insight that war fortifies everything libertarians abhor: taxes, debt, jobbery, and violations of civil liberties such as privacy. No one has put it better than the anti–World War I writer Randolph Bourne: “War is the health of the state.” How can any libertarian defend it?

What the ambassador doesn't get is that it doesn't matter what you think of the people that you victimize. What matters is that you've found a way to rationalize victimizing them. Once you do that, you cross the line from human to monster.

How many Americans have any inkling of the crimes - yes, crimes - their government has committed against foreign peoples in their name over the last century? Most people don't know and don't care - and that's fine with their rulers because when vengeful foreigners assault American civilians (unjustifiably) or military occupiers, U.S. leaders and jingoist supporters can say "America" was the victim of another unprovoked attack. "Why do they hate us?" they will wonder.

Bush's policy is to deny he makes mistakes. God picked him to be president and he has a view similar to the claim of papal infallibility. He's the "Decider" and when he decides there is no turning back no matter how wrong the decision. But then his decisions are never wrong. Typical fundamentalist. He supports the troops. And they keep on dying.