The Windbags of War

One well-known libertarian sent out an e-mail saying, "As our men go off to war, the time for criticism ends." Well, there you have it. It's one thing to criticize a mugger before he takes your wallet, but, once he's in the act, it would be impolite to continue. And if you had known about the terrorist plot of September 11th, it would have been fine to try and talk the terrorists out of it while they were in the planning stages. But once they had actually hijacked the planes, it would be quite gauche to keep badgering them.

I've read several people asserting that the ease with which the US and its minions will win the war will "shut up" those who worked for peace. The moral principle involved seems to be that no action can be wrong if it is successful. By this criterion, Germany was fully justified in invading Poland in 1939, since it won so quickly.

Bush: If you don't go into exile, we'll invade your country.
Hussein: And if I do go into exile?
Bush: Well, in that case, we'll invade your country.

and other observations.