What the Iraqi insurgency is all about

Whatever we may think of the Iraq war, and of the American occupation, and however much we may criticize, rightly, the atrocious treatment of some detainees at American detention facilities like Gitmo, it's important to keep in mind just what the other side is doing. We know how brutally Saddam treated Iraqis, but we're finally getting a glimpse of just what the insurgents are like -- see here (it's a tough read, but an important one).

Let us debate the conduct of the war/occupation, but let us also keep in mind that we're all on the same side -- or, at least, we should be. I know it's hard to see that, especially for those of us on the left or in the center who disagree with the Bush Administration and who find much of the zealously pro-war right so repellent, but some perspective is required if we are to deal with Iraq without resorting to blind partisanship.

There will always be those on the extremes who refuse to see things as they are and who approach every issue with a mind to scoring political points, but let us at least try to do the right thing irrespective of the usual left-right divisions that plague American politics. And, for now, in that regard, let no one think that America and Americans are in any way on the same level of inhumanity as those who wage war on their own people and who don't give a damn about human life, whether Saddam or, now, the fascist jihadists who lead the Iraqi insurgency.