A great quote for supporters of the Iraq War to ponder.
Yes. And even Iraq intervention *opponents*, to the extent that people who oppose the war out of a sense of nationalism ("WE don't want OUR troops dying, or money going to pay for this that should be used to help AMERICANS, etc.) and see the Bush administration as the main enemy, take that feeling a step further and come to see those in other countries who also oppose Bush as being on "their side."
It is not unreasonable to assume that many people in the U.S. *do* feel this way to some extent: A recent unscientific poll on Daily Kos found that 31% of respondents would prefer to have Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president of the United States than George Bush! (See http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/9/23/224950/843 ). I have even heard some people deny that Al Qaeda was responsible for the 9/11 attacks, attributing them instead to the Bush administration or some Jewish conspiracy. That's not quite the same as the "not hearing about" the atrocities, but it seems like a similar willful disregard of reality. (Which isn't to say that the U.S. government necessarily had no role in *allowing* the attacks to happen!)
I don't know if Orwell ever commented on the phenomenon of nationalism causing people to reflexively side *against* the government claiming jurisdiction over the area in which they live, when that government is made up of people seen as being from that same geographic area and national background, or if such a phenomena was even much in effect during his lifetime. Could it be a uniquely modern development?
Love & Liberty,
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