(REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

THE QUOTE: "There's no doubt his hatred is mainly directed at us. There's no doubt he can't stand us. After all, this is a guy that tried to kill my dad at one time." -- President Bush, speaking of Saddam Hussein.

BUZZ TERMS/TALLY : "doubt", "hatred", "directed", "kill" -- Not bad. Four words spells out the whole problem: doubt and hatred directed at someone will indeed kill them.

COLLEGE LESSON NOT LEARNED: Don't make it personal.

THE TRANSLATION: Ok, I'm not doing so well here at home. I've got friends who are crooks, ones who used to ship chemicals off to Iraq -- when we didn't like Iran -- and ones in the derivatives sector that could use a massive boost after Enron crashed. Plus, we can't find that freaking bin Laden guy. Dad, help me out here. What's that? You left a mess in Iraq? Wait a minute! If I clean up your mess then they'll forget about my mess, and then . . .

THE SOLUTION: Acknowledge diversity of perspective. Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda killed many fathers on 9/11. At least George the Former is still alive. Maybe we ought to make sure this $6 billion-a-month war is worth the price tag and lost fathers before we sign off on it.

 


 

 

Jean Baudrillard's The Gulf War Did Not Take Place examines what war would look like to a world that thinks nothing is real. When it was released, some laughed it off while the others were inventing Reality TV. Who's winning? Meanwhile, Joseph Heller's Catch-22 will show you how fun war can be if you're selling goods to both sides of that battle line drawn in the sand. War is hell? Depends on who you ask.


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