Quote:
Originally Posted by Flagg
But could the Communist sympathizing volunteers of the 1930's Spanish Civil War represent an analog to the militant Islamic volunteers of today?
Is there anything of value to be learned in the comparison?
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A major difference is that a lot of people who went to fight for the "republic" really did not know what they were going to fight for. A lot of them found out the hard way that the men they were fighting for were not the second coming of America's founding fathers (this is a lesson that Americans seem to have to learn over and over again). The bottom line is that a lot of people who went to fight in the Spanish Civil war legitimately believed they were fighting for democracy.
By contrast, the Islamic militants make it very clear what they are like and what they do. Truth in advertising is one of their few virtues. Those who go to fight for them can hardly claim ignorance as to the fact that they chop people's heads off or blow up marketplaces on purpose.