Opinion: In today’s pages: Trading with Colombia, staying in Iraq, redefining genocide
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Columnist Jonah Goldberg argues that a narrow definition of genocide often lets mass murderers off the hook:
This can lead to a dangerous way of thinking in which people who are perceived to be standing in the way of progress -- middle-class farmers opposed to collectivization, aristocrats, reactionaries -- can be more forgivably slaughtered than ethnic groups because they’re allegedly part of the problem, not the solution. After all, you’ve got to break some eggs to make an omelet.In general, the Soviets and the Red Chinese elude the genocide charge -- and hence the status of ultimate villains -- despite having murdered scores of millions of people in the 20th century, in large part because their victims stood in the way of progress.
Historian Martin Meredith laments that Robert Mugabe’s hunger for power prevented him from becoming another Nelson Mandela. And contributing editor Max Boot says the U.S. can still win in Iraq if the troops just stay put.
The editorial board encourages Congress to approve a trade pact with Colombia, observes that the Supreme Court will once again consider a display of the Ten Commandments, and wonders if Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are both obscuring their true feelings on trade.
Readers react to columnist Patt Morrison’s piece on billboards in L.A. Culver City’s Gene Rothman updates Ogden Nash:
I see again an outdoor panelIt’s another from Clear ChannelIf from its stock we all withdrewPerhaps we’d hear another view.