I, for one, will not have [the Vietcong] insulted by any comparison to the forces of Zarqawi, the Fedayeen Saddam, and the criminal underworld now arrayed against us. These depraved elements are the Iraqi Khmer Rouge.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Hitchens rejects comparing the Vietcong to Iraqi insurgents, calling the latter criminal and depraved.
- In plain terms
- He says Iraqi enemies are worse than the Vietcong.
- What can you take from it?
- Not all enemy forces deserve the same moral label.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do we judge enemies?
- When are historical parallels valid?
Another view
The comparison may still oversimplify complex historical conflicts.
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