it's beyond most of us, alan. manifest destiny in the 21st century makes the white man's burden of the 19th look tame indeed.
according to harpers (whose resources are quite reliable), the daily amphetamine dosage given to u.s. fighter pilots, tank crews, &c., in afghanistan and now in the gulf, is twice that given in 1991. these are sleep-deprived frightened young men who have their hyped and primed fingers on triggers with all the deadly readiness of the best video game players.
below, an iraqi colonel, armed with weapons of not-very-much destruction, gives his assesment of saddam hussein.
excerpt from sunday nytimes :
[...]
"We are not cowards, but what is the point?" said Ahmed Ghobashi, an Iraqi colonel from Baghdad. "I've got a rifle from World War II. What can I do against American airplanes?"
Colonel Ghobashi talked on for a while, detailing his participation in the disastrous wars begun by Mr. Hussein in Iran and Kuwait. He was a professional soldier, he said, and he did not sign up to engage in fanciful adventures. As he talked on, his tone grew bitter, until he concluded that Mr. Hussein must have a secret agenda.
"He doesn't give us enough to eat, and he doesn't pay us," the colonel said. "And then he starts this thing with the Americans and then tells us to defend the country against the invasion."
Colonel Ghobashi pursed his lips in contemplation and rendered his final opinion on Mr. Hussein.
"I believe he is an American agent," he said.
[...]
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/23/international/worldspecial/23SOUT.html?th
