The Western Values
04/2006: How are we driving, but especially, where are we going to?
If it wasn’t that in Iraq 60 people a day are dying on average, we could laugh our arses off anytime our political leaders open their mouths to comment on the situation.
In 2003 we invaded because of the WMD threat. Then they explained us that there weren’t the weapons but there was a tie between 9/11 and Saddam Hussein.
After that, we had to listen that we intervened in Iraq to export democracy and civil rights. Then it was the time of the phantomatic “western values”. What the hell they are nobody knows.
Anyway, in Iraq we are performing very badly, referring to any of the alleged motives that brought us there in the first place. When we try to “export” human rights torturing prisoners, (Abu Ghraib prison) we risk to confuse our audience, which might think we don’t really know what we are talking about.
And somehow this feels true.
What has torture to do with human rights? And what are these western values anyway?
Is it something to do with Freeview?
Whatever this set of values is, it feels like, day by day, it is not being appreciated very much by the population on the ground.
But there is a bottom line, anyway.
We could just fit all our tanks with a How am I driving sign, I’m sure Iraqis will be more than glad to know the number they can complain to if their sons are run over by a tank.
