Antiwar "Die-In" Shows Utter Collapse of Decency

William Kristol's got a new piece up at the Weekly Standard arguing for the complete collapse of moral decency among the hard-line antiwar forces of the left.

Apparently, the magazine ran a pro-war rebuttal by seven Iraq veterans criticizing - in a very respectful manner - the commentary article in the New York Times of seven antiwar Iraq Veterans. Joe Klein, at his Time blog, denounced the Weekly Standard as having "trashed" the antiwar veterans, and Kristol responds to that hack job as an example of even a normally reasoned journalist descending to rank name-calling rather than dispassionate analysis.

But there's more:

Meanwhile, a motley crew of antiwar groups, including Iraq Veterans Against The War, CODEPINK, ANSWER, and MoveOn.org, are organizing a week of demonstrations in Washington beginning September 15. The "mobilization" will be kicked off with a "Die-In," sponsored primarily by ANSWER and Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW). As they explain, "IVAW is asking that participants in the Die-In/Funeral select the name of one of the almost 4,000 soldiers who have been killed in Iraq. You can select a family member, friend or someone from your city, town or state. Please bring a photograph of that person and a sign with his/her name on September 15." Needless to say, the protesters who will be appropriating the names of soldiers and Marines killed in action have no intention of asking the permission of their families. But why should the families think their loved ones' sacrifices are being exploited in an unbelievably offensive way? After all, as one organizer explains, "The die-in will be led by an Honor Guard of Iraq Veterans Against the War who will simulate a 21-Gun Salute before taps is played to initiate the die-in."

Grotesque.

Will mainstream antiwar groups and antiwar politicians denounce this action, which is scheduled to begin the weeklong protest? Will the respectable parts of the antiwar movement stand with veterans and veterans' families who intend to protest this disgusting appropriation of their loved ones' names? Surely most critics of the war still have a sense of decency.

I think most people lose a little of their reasonableness when debating this war, as things have gotten deeply emotional.

But I have to agree that this hard-left "die-in" takes the cake as the most despicable radical antiwar tactic in recent times.