Tuesday, February 06, 2007

"Nothing new is being said here"

But that won't stop William Arkin from droning on about how everybody who disagrees with him is wrong and he is right.

This last column is filled with his categorizing the various comments he's received about the previous two columns and then marginalizing and shooting down any arguments those comments present.

But then there's this jewel:

On the advice of my editors, this is the last column I will post for awhile on this subject. My impulse would be to continue to fight back and answer the critics, but I see the wisdom in their observation that nothing new is being said here and the Internet frenzy is adding nothing to the debate or our understanding of our world. I also see that I cannot continue to write about humanity and difficult questions if indeed what I wish is to vanquish those who attack me.

Mr. Arkin, it isn't that you can't write about humanity. It's that you can't label the soldiering part of our humanity "mercenaries" and tell them they don't have a right to criticize the American anti-war crowd and expect it not to have an effect. And then don't write column after column insisting how right you are to think these things about them. It's time for you to admit you lost and move on. This is your little Vietnam.