Thursday, September 27, 2007

Bloomberg Compares Iraqi Insurgents To American Revolutionaries

Mayor Bloomberg didn't sound like a Republican, or Democrat when he sat down with Tom Brokaw two nights ago down in Cooper Union. Instead of framing them as our enemy, he took a third party perspective and saw them as revolutionaries. I believe we shouldn't even be there in the first place, our absence would immediately release them from enemy status. They want to take control of the country without our interference and are doing so without any care of American (or other Iraqis) lives. Bloomberg did surprisingly well in the interview, even if it riles many in the American mainstream.

From The NY Post:

Bloomberg said the comparison occurred to him when he visited his mother recently and was driving through Lexington, Mass., where a scrubby group of farmers rose up against a well-trained militia more than 200 years ago.

"We're the British," the mayor said during an interview with Tom Brokaw at Cooper Union, part of a series featuring potential presidential contenders hosted by former Gov. Mario Cuomo.

"I'm not suggesting the motives are the same. But I'm just pointing out that this was an insurgent kind of attack on trained, disciplined, uniformed soldiers who fought in a rigorously planned way. And we're trying to adjust to that."


Of course the scenario isn't the same but the comparison is an interesting one to examine. We currently occupy Iraq as did the British over their colonies and our then to be future homeland. The British were thought to be militarily superior and so are we in Iraq. The Continental Army was a ragtag bunch at first who ultimately won with help from outside entities (as we suspect the Iraqis are from neighboring countries, whether that be Iran, Syria or Saudi Arabia).

Now the Iraqis have entrenched themselves in a civil war while American soldiers are continuously caught in the crossfire. This differs from the story 230 years ago, but the current conflict isn't a replication of that 18th century war. Nonetheless, Bloomberg's words are interesting to ponder.