Juan Cole takes Christopher Hitchens to task

[Chicago Democrat]

Christopher Hitchens wrote this crap only a day before the Canadian born "Mayor" of Bagdad was deposed by Sadrist Shiites on Slate:

The New York Times ran a fascinating report (subscription only), under the byline of James Glanz, on July 8. It was a profile of Dr. Alaa Tamimi, the mayor of Baghdad, whose position it would be a gross understatement to describe as "embattled." Dr. Tamimi is a civil engineer and convinced secularist who gave up a prosperous exile in Canada to come home and help rebuild his country. He is one among millions who could emerge if it were not for the endless, pitiless torture to which the city is subjected by violent religious fascists. He is quoted as being full of ideas, of a somewhat Giuliani-like character, about zoning enforcement, garbage recycling, and zero tolerance for broken windows. If this doesn't seem quixotic enough in today's gruesome circumstances, he also has to confront religious parties on the city council and an inept central government that won't give him a serious budget.

Question: Why have several large American cities not already announced that they are going to become sister cities with Baghdad and help raise money and awareness to aid Dr. Tamimi? When I put this question to a number of serious anti-war friends, their answer was to the effect that it's the job of the administration to allocate the money, so that there's little room or need for civic action. I find this difficult to credit: For day after day last month I could not escape the news of the gigantic "Live 8" enterprise, which urged governments to do more along existing lines by way of debt relief and aid for Africa. Isn't there a single drop of solidarity and compassion left over for the people of Iraq, after three decades of tyranny, war, and sanctions and now an assault from the vilest movement on the face of the planet? Unless someone gives me a persuasive reason to think otherwise, my provisional conclusion is that the human rights and charitable "communities" have taken a pass on Iraq for political reasons that are not very creditable. And so we watch with detached curiosity, from dry land, to see whether the Iraqis will sink or swim. For shame.
http://slate.msn.com/id/2124157/
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Then the Dr Tamini was thrown out of office by Sadrist Militia

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Juan Cole (who notices everything) made this entry in response:

Al-Tamimi was recently the subject of a glowing write up at Slate by Christopher Hitchens, who wondered why US cities were not sending aid and help to such municipal politicians in Iraq. The answer is that a) there is virtually no infrastructure for aid delivery, and any American who showed up from Cincinnati to help Tamimi would just be killed; and b) political instability is so great in Iraq that you never know from day to day whether your aid will go to Tamimi or to the Iran-trained Badr Corps paramilitary of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (from which the new mayor comes). Hitchens raised the suggestion in the context of whether the American left wants the US effort to succeed in Iraq. But the effort that Hitchens has in mind, of a secular democracy, probably failed on January 30 when SCIRI, Dawa, and a bloc of Sadrists (Shiite fundamentalist parties) jointly won the parliamentary elections. As for the security situation, I'm not sure what we mere mortals can do about it if the whole US army and marine corps are helpless before it

http://juancole.com/

[Brotherjohn]

1. Hitchens is just insane. U.S. cities, already cash-starved (thanks to...

... Bush in no small part) are supposed to do what Bush refuses to do on a Federal level?!?

Hitchens is basically asking our local governments (and U.S.-based activists) to fund the war, because Bush can't afford to do it! State and local governments don't even have enough money to fund federally mandated initiatives they're supposed to enact (that might actually be relevant to them) because Bush doesn't have enough money for those. Now Hitchens is asking that they aid Bush in funding his foreign policy blunders?! Is it wise (or even legal) for local governments to even get involved in such matters of war?

And then he lays into feminist groups, environmentalists, Live 8, etc., for not aiming their attention towards the people (and marshes) of Iraq.

Newsflash, Mr. Hitchens! The people of Iraq are FAR from the only people suffering in the world right now, and most of their suffering is due directly to the war WE have brought to their doorstep... a war which makes it exceedingly difficult and dangerous for any humanitarian effort to be conducted there.

And then he accuses them of a lack of compasion because they don't devote their resources to Iraq?!

Well why doesn't Mr. Hitchens strap on a Kevlar vest and go work in a soup kitchen in Fallujah.

The man is simply insane.

[LSparkle]

2. Delicious! I LOVE roasted Hitchens!

[against all enemies]

3. Let's start a collection and Hitchens can deliver it Good Luck Asshole.

[Cocoa]

4. I'm sorry I didn't help that poor mayor

I'm sorry I didn't go there and defend him myself against the Badr militia. I feel so guilty.

[noonwitch]

5. Istopped paying attention to Hitchens when he went after Mother Theresa

That was just more than I could take. I stopped reading Vanity Fair for a couple of years over his vitriol directed at an old woman who lived her entire life in service to God and the people of India.

[AtTheEndOfTheDay]

6. I don't like Hitchens

But I loved his roasting of mother Theresa. It was right on. She was a money mongering phony and nobody but he called her out.

[Barrett808]

7. I used to like Hitchens, but he's just crazy now

Clinton and 9/11 really sent him around the bend.