IRAQ INSURGENCY NOT PRETTY BUT NECESSARY, JUSTIFIED AND LEGAL

At first glance Antony Loewenstein appears to be sympathetic to the plight of Iraqis. He's even gone so far as to announce his support for Iraqi "insurgents" – in a post titled Fighting for their own land:

An insurgency against foreign occupation should not surprise the West (though we now learn that the US has a new recipe for "Iraq victory".) Indeed, resistance to occupation is both expected and necessary.

Today Angry Ant reveals he really couldn't care less about freedom and democracy for the Iraqi people. The only result coming out of Iraq Ant's concerned about is the defeat of the US:

Wishing the US lose in Iraq is vital, for political reasons. And it already has, so that's a good thing.

Supporting the insurgency is different. It's often brutal and vile - something I don't support - but resistance to occupation is necessary, justified and legal.

Since when was resistance to occupation pretty, anyway?

Ant obviously isn't bothered – actually, he's probably secretly delighted – that over 2,000 coalition forces have been killed in the little points scoring exercise in Iraq.

And what about the thousands of Iraqis killed and terrorized by insurgents along the way? Hey, insurgencies can be ugly. Eggs... omelette.

But what about the fate of Iraq and Iraqis – and the broader Middle East and the rest of the world for that matter – if the US is defeated? Maybe once the US is off the scene the Sunni, Shia and Kurds will get together for a group hug and live happily ever after. It could be that Zarqawi and his band of not so merry men will declare "mission accomplished" and retire to caves in eastern Afghanistan where they'll joyfully busy themselves making babies for the rest of their days. Or it could be the world will witness a blood-letting like none seen before (not since Mao made his long overdue departure from this Earth, anyway).

It's also possible that once Uncle Sam is no longer walking the Iraq beat the whole region will descend into chaos. If so, the price of oil is bound to skyrocket, adversely affecting the whole of the developed world but devastating the developing world. Regardless, it's not a problem, so long as the US is defeated.

The bottom line is this: deep down inside lefties admire the power that comes from the barrel of a gun and aren't concerned one little bit about how many people are killed – innocents or otherwise – just so long as the desired ends are achieved.

Update: Loewenstein continues to hammer away at the US, noting:

Massive support for the growing insurgency...

He has, of course, ignored reports that Sunnis in Anbar province are prepared to come on board with the US. It's also unlikely he'll mention this:

So much for the popularly peddled view that anti-Americanism in the Muslim world is so pervasive and deep-rooted it might take generations to alter. A new poll from Pakistan, a critical front-line in the war on terror, paints a very different picture--by revealing a sea-change in public opinion in recent months.

Long a stronghold for Islamic extremists and the world's second-most populous Muslim nation, Pakistanis now hold a more favorable opinion of the U.S. than at any time since 9/11, while support for al Qaeda in its home base has dropped to its lowest level since then. The direct cause for this dramatic shift in Muslim opinion is clear: American humanitarian assistance for Pakistani victims of the Oct. 8 earthquake that killed 87,000. The U.S. pledged $510 million for earthquake relief in Pakistan and American soldiers are playing a prominent role in rescuing victims from remote mountainous villages.

US up, al Qaeda down; a double disappointment for lefties.

Update II: Here are three of the "MOST WANTED" corporate criminals, and their crimes, from a list Angry Ant links to:

CATERPILLAR

Human Rights Abuses: contracting with known violators of human rights, enabling house demolition, supplying equipment that kills Palestinian civilians and American peace activists.


COCA-COLA

Human Rights Abuses: violent killings, kidnap and torture, water privatization, health violations, and discriminatory practices.


WAL-MART

Human Rights Abuses: worker rights violations, labor discrimination, union busting.

Of the 14 listed companies, most are US based. Global Exchange the compiler and publisher of the list suggests that readers use the provided addresses and phone numbers to contact company CEOs to express disapproval. Oddly, the contact details for Nestle, based in Switzerland, are for Nestle USA. It's an anti-American thing.