Paul GrahamVerified account

I remember the aggressive dehumanization, I remember the fear mongering turning into anger and then the anger morphing into hate.

I remember the hate turning into a search for justifications, for a whole ideology that empowers it and holds it in place.

The Iraq war was a turning point for me. I was a normal person, and then I was a radicalized angry young man who studies Salafi Jihadism.

More infuriating that the politicians were the "intellectuals". Hitchens. Ayaan. Harris. They gave the wars an intellectual veneer.

I was lucky enough that radicalization didn't totally snuff out the light of my soul. I found my way back. But there are others who didn't.

Many people point to these personalities and say hey, they only spoke, they didn't kill anyone.

What about the wars they sold? How many lives were crushed in their aftermath? How many young people - on other side - were radicalized?

These were not just "war supporters". They were thought leaders, opinion makers. They didn't just support war, they sold its narrative.