[sauropod]

"What I am saying is that much of the supercilious breast-beating one sees with leftists here derives from a kind of self-congratulatory narcissism, a sense that their criticism of the occupation makes them larger, better people."

LOL! Thomas Sowell had it right! Vision of the Annointed: Self-Congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy!

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

much of the supercilious breast-beating one sees with leftists here derives from a kind of self-congratulatory narcissism, a sense that their criticism of the occupation makes them larger, better people. 

You and I saw the same thing (and I really must read Visions of the Anointed sometime; I've read many of Sowell's books.

I would add that what gets openly printed is only what is safe to print; that did not include Saddam & Sons Inc's vicious repression but does include wildly exaggerated if not wholly made-up stories of "repression" in the U.S. "Historians" who treat journalism as "the first draft of history" therefore systematically underreport actual evil and overreport whatever negative can be said about a democratic republic.

[Carry_Okie]

There is another, frankly simpler aspect to leftist fecklessness. They are cowards. Cowards need a way to take out their self-hatred on a sort of father figure, someone who won't fight back. The United States, and especially conservative Christians and military people, makes the perfect target because we don't blow them away for their impetuous and destructive behavior.

Between giving comfort to the enemy and foisting socialism and NGO dependency upon these poor people, they just may create the meltdown in Iraq that they secretly desire. I would bet that their grant financiers do fancy the resulting prospect of high oil prices.