Quagmire
We all knew that the political opponents of President Bush, the left, the left-leaning media elements, the democrats, the anti-US/Peace crowd, and the prominent showbiz leftists would soon be using the word "quagmire" to describe the situation in Iraq.In the past few weeks, the blogosphere has been relentless in covering the comparisons to Vietnam made by Vietnam era journalists who see everything through the prism of Vietnam.
Last week, the Milwaukee Journal's Eugene Kane threw out the "q-word" in one of his columns.
He starts off by giving a great synopsis of Liberia and why the US should be/is involved. He states that some people in the military are questioning why we're sending troops into Liberia, "warning that current military forays into Afghanistan and Iraq are still not settled. They're worried about stretching our military presence too thin."
He then drops this line, "These are the same folks, by the way, who refused to listen when critics of the Iraq war accurately predicted the quagmire that has emerged out of that particular foreign policy."
So much to say about one little line.
First, this is NOT what critics of the war in Iraq were arguing. I could not really tell you what the critics of the Iraq war were trying to argue, because they never really gave us a good reason. Mostly, I remember them saying that we have not found WMDs, that we should give the inspectors more time, and "we must be wrong if the rest of the world disagrees with us".
Second, it is true that SOME people (mostly military) did raise reservations about the Iraq conflict with regards to spreading our boys too thin. I don't remember anyone suggesting that we could not win in Iraq and keep an eye on Afganistan at the same time. They were just concerned about the slippery slope of sending our troops everywhere. In fact, I think it is the same people raising the same question.
Third, Kane seems to be suggesting that the critics of the Iraq war were right. These are the same critics who predicted doom for our troops, an exploding middle east, the arab street teeming with rage, world war III, ...did any of that happen? Just the opposite. Al Qaida is on the run and can only hit small targets in muslim countries. The Palestinians and Jews are closer to peace than ever (though no one is optimistic about it lasting). The Iranian street is rife with pro-democracy protests. The mullahs in Iran are showing signs of weakness and worry. Afganistan is still crawling slowly ahead. Other arab coutries seem more willing to toe the US line. Despite being shown to be buffoons, Kane is suggesting the Iraq war critics were actually right.
I do not know if it is wishful thinking on his part, ...but we are not in a quagmire. Are things rosey? No. Are things better? Yes. Is the administration feeling pressure from these attacks? No. We will not abandon the Iraqis. No one thought this was going to be easy. We were all prepared for the worst. The difference is, some of us were prepared to face it head on, and others like Kane, were not.
It is going to be a difficult and historic rebuilding effort. The opponents of the effort want it to stop it all costs. Unfortunately, people like Kane are all to eager to give them a victory. No Mr. Kane, the Iraq war critics were not right. Then or now.
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