With warfare escalating in Iraq, syndicated columnist George Will has
just explained the logic of the occupation. “In the war against the
militias,” he wrote, “every door American troops crash through, every
civilian bystander shot -- there will be many -- will make matters worse,
for a while. Nevertheless, the first task of the occupation remains the
first task of government: to establish a monopoly on violence.”
A year ago, when a Saddam statue famously collapsed in Baghdad, top
officials in Washington preened themselves as liberators. Now, some of the
tyrant’s bitterest enemies are firing rocket-propelled grenades at
American troops.
Hypocrisy about press freedom has a lot to do with the current Shiite
insurrection. Donald Rumsfeld had an easy retort seven months ago when
antiwar protesters interrupted his speech at the National Press Club in
Washington. “You know, I just came in from Baghdad,” he said, “and there
are now over 100 newspapers in the free press in Iraq, in a free Iraq,
where people are able to say whatever they wish.” But actually, Iraq’s
newspapers “are able to say whatever they wish” only if they wish to say
