Evil

Yesterday President Bush reiterated his stance on staying the course in Iraq. Among other things he said of some of the combatants and their tactics: “People who do that are not — it’s not a civil war, it is pure evil. And I believe we have an obligation to protect ourselves from that evil.”

So, he (and the American voters) see the Iraq War as a battle of good vs. evil. WE, somehow, are players in a great historical drama that involves self-righteousness, power and September 11. I understand and loathe that position. What I don't understand is how the presence of 'evil' means that it isn't a civil war. Can't you have a civil war with evil? Maybe that's just too much to understand and spin for mass consumption. A talking point must be simple so that the voting public can digest it quickly and shit it out in the form of an opinion at great speed. The President knows this, he is a master of spin. Spin works because Americans have little interest in digesting larger amounts of information and thinking for themselves.