WAR AGAINST IRAQ...OR HUSSEIN? Patrick

WAR AGAINST IRAQ…OR HUSSEIN? Patrick Ruffini, linking to the New York Times‘ article on Saddam’s body count that we linked to on Sunday writes:

A “war against Iraq” seems like a dangerously inappropriate term after reading an account like this. This is a war against Saddam, not against Iraq.

It’s semantics of course, but I disagree; we’re at war with Iraq, simply because Saddam Hussein is Iraq. He controls that nation in toto, just as Hitler controlled the German Reich from 1933 to 1945. And to the extent that the vast majority of armed forces follow their lead, when you’re at war with a dictator, you’re at war with his country.

Of course, once the dictator is removed from power (one way or another), it’s another story.