A Queer Idea of Success
Andrew Sullivan has once again shown how clueless he really is. His June 1st posting entitled "Just a Question" is a very poor attempt to justify the war in Iraq.
Well Andrew, here is my retort. If someone had said that no WMD stockpiles would be found; that any Al-Qaeda/Iraq connections would be proven false; that Ahmed Chalabi would be completely discredited and exposed as having leaked US intelligence to Iran; that Iraq prisoners would be tortured and murdered by US soldiers; that thousands of innocent people would be killed; that Al-Qaeda would become larger and stronger than ever; that the United States would lose it's credibility in the eyes of most of the world; would you say that the war in Iraq has been an incredible success. NO! While there may be positive elements... this war has been a disaster for our country. There is no spin that can change that.
The logic for Sullivan's arguement is akin to: "Global Warming is good because I don't have to shovel the snow out of my driveway as much." or "Murder is alright because it helps control the human population."
Is this their basis for the war now... let's just look at the good and ignore the bad? Apparently these people don't care what the means(murder, destruction, dishonesty, etc) as long as the outcome satisfies their ideology.
And while it is fine for Sullivan to examine positive news coming from Iraq, it is not okay to use it as justification. Everything is NOT coming up roses. Mr. Sullivan is stuck in his world of wishful thinking.
Sullivan's next posting should sound something like: "The GLBT community should vote for Bush because he has never proposed a law that would have us put to death."
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If someone had said in February 2003, that by June 2004, Saddam Hussein would have been removed from power and captured; that a diverse new government, including Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds, would be installed; that elections would be scheduled for January 2005; and that the liberation of a devastated country of 25 million in which everyone owns an AK-47 had been accomplished with an army of around 140,000 with a total casualty rate (including accidents and friendly fire) of around 800; that no oil fields had been set aflame; no WMDs had been used; no mass refugee crises had emerged; and no civil war had broken out... well, I think you would come to the conclusion that the war had been an extraordinary success. And you'd be right. Yes, there are enormous challenges; and yes, so much more could have been achieved without incompetence, infighting and occasional inhumanity. But it's worth acknowledging that, with a little perspective, our current gloom is over-blown. Stocks in Iraq have been way over-sold. I even regret some minor sells myself. Now watch the media do all it can to accentuate the negative.
Well Andrew, here is my retort. If someone had said that no WMD stockpiles would be found; that any Al-Qaeda/Iraq connections would be proven false; that Ahmed Chalabi would be completely discredited and exposed as having leaked US intelligence to Iran; that Iraq prisoners would be tortured and murdered by US soldiers; that thousands of innocent people would be killed; that Al-Qaeda would become larger and stronger than ever; that the United States would lose it's credibility in the eyes of most of the world; would you say that the war in Iraq has been an incredible success. NO! While there may be positive elements... this war has been a disaster for our country. There is no spin that can change that.
The logic for Sullivan's arguement is akin to: "Global Warming is good because I don't have to shovel the snow out of my driveway as much." or "Murder is alright because it helps control the human population."
Is this their basis for the war now... let's just look at the good and ignore the bad? Apparently these people don't care what the means(murder, destruction, dishonesty, etc) as long as the outcome satisfies their ideology.
And while it is fine for Sullivan to examine positive news coming from Iraq, it is not okay to use it as justification. Everything is NOT coming up roses. Mr. Sullivan is stuck in his world of wishful thinking.
Sullivan's next posting should sound something like: "The GLBT community should vote for Bush because he has never proposed a law that would have us put to death."
