Let the people see what war is like. This isn’t an XBox game. There are real repercussions to Bush’s folly.

That said, I feel nothing about the deaths of mercernaries. They aren’t in Iraq because of orders, or because they are trying to help the people make Iraq abetter place. They are there to wage war for profit. Screw them. — Markos Zuniga.

The original post by Kos is gone. There is a screenshot of his post in the story I linked to. John Cole has more commentary here and here, and the screenshot is now available on my server.

Roger Simon has some analysis:

But something happened in the cataclysm of 9/11, a fracture that, instead of repairing in the normal way, has just grown worse. In the intervening relatively short period, a great portion of the left has almost unthinkingly placed itself in a classical Laingian double-bind–its hatred of Bush unable to co-exist with its natural idealism. Back in the Early Paleolithic Period, when I first joined the left, it was this idealism that motivated all of us. I assume it did for Zuniga et al. But some kind of cognitive dissonance set in after those planes came crashing into the World Trade Center. They refused to accept that anything good could happen under another name (Republicanism, conservatism, Bush, etc.). Good only comes from the names they traditionally associate with it. So heinous and barbaric acts are excused by people who under other circumstance would never do that. It’s depressing and it’s frightening.

Only, I feel no need to analyze Markos Zuniga. I know for a fact that his views do not represent all of the American left, but it reflects on them just a little bit. Just a little bit, but it’s enough to make the water a bit too bitter for my taste. I have lost faith in the possibility that the more centrist members of the left would police their own ranks and have shifted my focus on ensuring that the Republican party shed the stigma of hate that surrounds it, so I am actually surprised at the reactions of the Democratic politicians who have decided to pull out their ads from Markos’ site (as detailed in the Friedman post).

My god says that even my prayers will do nothing to save you from the karma of your vileness.

UPDATE: A quick thought: aren’t Kos’ words so much more vile considering he used to be a man in uniform as well?

UPDATE 2: Found from The Galvin Opinion, Zuniga seems to be practicing for a career in politics.

Back to Iraq, our men and women in uniform are there under orders, trying to make the best of an impossible situation. The war is not their fault, and I will always defend their honor and bravery to the end of my days. But the mercenary is a whole different deal. They willingly enter a war zone, and do so because of the paycheck. They’re not there for humanitarian reasons (I doubt they’d donate half their paycheck to the Red Cross or whatever). They’re there because the money is DAMN good. They answer to no one except their CEO. They are dangerous, hence international efforts (however fruitless they may be) to ban their use.

So not only was I wrong to say I felt nothing over their deaths, I was lying. I felt way too much. Nobody deserves to die. But in the greater scheme of things, there are a lot of greater tragedies going on in Iraq (51 last month, plus countless civilians and Iraqi police). That those tragedies are essentially ignored these days is, ultimately, the greatest tragedy of all.

The dude sure has a knack for weaseling, eh?

Considering how his own words will haunt him forever and will be used against him a la “Character Suicide” — ensuring that his chances for getting into an elected office are close to nil — his non-apology will be the closest thing he’ll say to something so classic as the following quotes:

“I am not a crook” — Richard Nixon
“I did not have s****** r******** w*** t*** w****.” — Bill Clinton

Welcome to political limbo, jackass. Enjoy your blog. That’s the closest thing to political fame that you’ll get.

UPDATE 3: [Link thanks to Tactius] Heresy seems to have no place in dKos, as a dKos buddy who is audacious enough to at least admit that there is something wrong with Markos is pilloried by the commenters. Said the dKos traitor (And of course, the requisite screenshot in case the freaks pretend it was never written):

I think that Kos just uttered his Dean scream this morning with his “Screw them.” comment. I really don’t give a crap where Kos grew up, his comments were simply inappropriate and uncalled for. What happened in Fallujah was barbaric and inexcusable. To come out and say “Screw them.” of these men has instantly made Kos a liability to the causes he was supporting, the candidates he’s promoting, and the people here that comment on his site. And him redirecting from his original comment to his non-apology does nothing to inspire confidence in him.

It’s over for Kos. The sooner people realize this, the better.

Here’s something I’d like to understand, and you can talk to me very, very slowly if you have to: why are people who are calling Kos out on his inhumane statements “blowing things out of proportion?”

I hope this would be my last word on this red meat issue: Not even seppuku would restore Markos Zuniga’s honor. [A bonk on the head for anyone who interprets that as a threat. It's a variant on "Well he couldn't salvage his reputation if he hung himself over it..." --- Ed.]