Charlie Stross makes an interesting comparison between US troops firing on demonstrators in Iraq and Bloody Sunday in Ireland on 30 January, 1972. The parallel is very strong, and not pleasant at all.
Charlie also comments that the US reduction of forces in Saudi Arabia (from 5000 troops to 400) is exactly what Osama bin Laden wanted, and amounts to a tacit surrender. In light of the current administration’s plans for a Pax Americana, I wonder if a complete takeover of the Middle East is in the works. On one hand, I’d really love to see the US government get out of bed with Saudi Arabia, a nation with a long history of egregious human rights violations. However, recreating the entire region in Bush’s image isn’t the answer, either.
