Why we fight

10 February 2004

Excerpt from an article in Sunday’s Boston Globe Magazine, in which the reporter talks to an anonymous official of the Coalition Provisional Authority:

“Of course, we are an empire, but we are different,” he says. “Our empire is not defined by territorial ambitions but by ideas. A lot of ideas, like free trade, like democracy, like copyright laws.”

Copyright? Was my host really suggesting that we had carried out one of the largest land invasions since World War II to protect copyright laws?

“Well, yeah, our empire is about promoting free trade, it’s about promoting democracy and the ownership of ideas. Sure, it’s about McDonald’s and Microsoft and everything else. But the reality is we are not here only to do that. We are here to protect the security of America. That’s what the mission is about.

“That, and to help the Iraqi people build their own future,” he adds.

Oh. OK. Thanks for clearing that up, sir.

Proposed new antiwar slogan: “No blood for Microsoft!”

• Later: Vote early, vote three times
• Earlier: Mysteries of Sisera’s mother