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Those Shameful Frenchmen by Harry Browne Why some Europeans view the War on Iraq a bit differently.... To most Americans, war is impersonal. War is dropping a few harmless bombs on foreign countries, the regrettable-but-heroic deaths of a handful of American soldiers, collateral damage, mopping up, peacekeeping, General Schwarzkopf on TV explaining smart bombs. But to Europeans, war is personal. Their parents and grandparents -- and even some of those living today -- have experienced war first-hand. They've seen the destruction of their own homes, the loss of the property they worked a lifetime to accumulate, the murder of relatives and close friends, whole cities flattened, dead bodies decomposing in pools of blood, the brutality of conquering soldiers, damage that's far from collateral, and outcomes far different from what was promised. To them, war is real -- not a video game.
Maybe the reason they don't talk in macho terms is because they know what they're talking about.
posted by Hal 6:40 PM
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