[WaterDragon]

The Telegraph gets more Guardian-like every day.

[Texas Eagle]

One guy, very much the worse for wear, shouted proudly: "We killed far less Iraqi citizens than Saddam." In a moment of grotesque comedy, his fratboy friend misunderstood him and said defensively: "But we've only been there a few goddamn weeks!"

Hee hee heeeeeee....that is pretty funny.

[Pukka Puck]

Another good post.

Thanks, Waterdragon.

[Mark Felton]

This author is the proverbial loser claiming his opponent "cheated".

He also overlooks the irony that within months that sportsbar scene could possibly be found in Baghdad itself, with Baghdad Bob singing "My Way" on Karaoke night.

[faithincowboys]

So did Bush lie about intelligence to get BLair and Clinton to wage Operation Desert Fox in 1998? Clinton said he and Blair did it to prevent Saddam's WMD from being transferred to terrorists.

It all happened during Lewinsky, of course.

I find the lack of archival reporting curious. They seem to enjoy going back to the 1980's to blame everything on Reagan. They also love to bring up the prior lives (Bush Senior's administration of those in the Bush administration ), but they never give the 90's the scrutiny it needs.

My, I would love a fair and balanced media. Fox isn't enough. The political grapevine is not sufficient. We need documentaries, the Left has them in abundance- PBS, Nightline, Dateline, 60 Minutes, CNN all are expert in churing out agenda driven (anti-Right, shelter the Left) documentaries.

Fox rarely does a serious documentary. Why we need the Cal Thomas and Pat Sajak shows is beyond me. Those hours could be used for Frontline type shows-- ones that would give Bill Moyer's heartburn!

[I still care]

When faced with the firepower the invading forces had at their disposal, the Iraqi troops were brave to the point of lunacy. Had the positions been reversed, it is extremely doubtful whether we could have shown such utterly desperate courage.

This line is so stupid it made me laugh. Wow, I wish our poor, ignoble, decadent troops had half the guts of the Iraqis.

How does he know the depths of courage that exist in our troops?

[ladyinred]

Second anti American article from the Brits I have read tonight. Gee, do they think they are French or what? Or perhaps are they helping their comrades here in the US as the campaign season begins?

[MattAMiller]

"It's a pattern of misinformation that recapitulates the way the war was sold in the first place. Each administration charge against Iraq received prominent coverage; the subsequent debunking did not"

The administration hasn't made any claims about the finds so far in Iraq. How about a little more fact checking and little less hanging around in bars.

[MattAMiller]

"It's a pattern of misinformation that recapitulates the way the war was sold in the first place. Each administration charge against Iraq received prominent coverage; the subsequent debunking did not"

The administration hasn't made any claims about the finds so far in Iraq. How about a little more fact checking and little less hanging around in bars?

[TrexDogs]

The Telegraph gets more Guardian-like every day.

You should bear in mind that this isn't an editorial opinion column. Do a web search on Irvine Welsh to learn more.

(hint: he is the author of Trainspotting ... he was hired to do a weekly "culture column" (LOL!) for the Torygraph as a way to try and lure younger readers to the paper... etc.)

[ArmstedFragg]

Just as you wouldn't expect Manchester United to come on all triumphalist after an FA Cup win over Kettering Town, a military victory against Iraq hardly constitutes air-punching stuff.

Interestingly enough, Manchester United wrapped up the league championship this weekend. I wonder if he'd mind a bit of air-punching about that?

[GunRunner]

Dude, what's going on at The Telegraph? I've been singing their praises since they exposed Galloway. Don't tell me they're on their way to being The Guardian's sister paper.

The Telegraph is the #1 selling paper in Britain. They sell twice the papers that The Guardian does, there's no reason to swing left.

[Billthedrill]

I do have difficulty taking a correspondent seriously who uses the adolescent locution "Fratboy Dim." It may well be that all of his readers recognize the disparaging reference, which will tall you how few readers he is really attempting to reach here.

The flip window dressing removed, there isn't much to this line of attack but an attempt to revise history - contrary to his assertion, the predictions of quagmire and a bloody stalemate were frequent and numerous. Now we won, and the attempt is to minimize that accomplishment and ignore the lack of dire consequences to date and focus on the difficulties of forming a new government. If these turn out to be as numerous and frequent as the predictions of quagmire and stalemate were, we haven't much to worry about, and the correspondent's story will change some more in the near future to read that he was right all along about that as well. Somebody is a little "dim" here all right, but it isn't the president, it's either the writer or his audience.

[HitmanLV]

Right here, right now though, Fratboy Dim seemed symbolic of something deeper.

Gee, I wonder if the author pondered what the legion of knee-jerk, cliche popping war protesters symbolized?

[Ditto]

These are seen as Old World tendencies and, if many middle-American citizens appear naïve to Europeans, it's only because they want to believe the best of their rulers.

Ya. Just like 1945 when the US had all of Western Europe by the balls and our leaders lied to us and told us we were only there to "liberate them".

Oooops. We did liberate them. I guess that doesn't work.

How about this one.

This "war" was never going to result in a coalition defeat. The only surprise was that it lasted so long. When faced with the firepower the invading forces had at their disposal, the Iraqi troops were brave to the point of lunacy. Had the positions been reversed, it is extremely doubtful whether we could have shown such utterly desperate courage.

Just like Washington and The Minute Men folded like a cheep suit when the British Red Coats leveled their Brown Bess muskets at them.

Ooops again. Washington won.

Maybe America is different.

[MEGoody]

"The war was a stupid, indulgent binge"

Yet another whiner carrying on about what we shouldn't have done. Funny, they had no brilliant ideas about what should have been done before we went to war.

[eyespysomething]

it is probable that most Americans now believe that America has found weapons of mass destruction thanks to the pattern of each potential find receiving huge television coverage, followed by the short (if that) notice of false alarm later on: "It's a pattern of misinformation that recapitulates the way the war was sold in the first place. Each administration charge against Iraq received prominent coverage; the subsequent debunking did not".

Like the Museum Looting?

Oh, and does this elistist think he is more informed and enlightened than we Americans?

[sbw123]

The author wrote that Fratboy dim had a deeper symbolic meaning. It's all wrapped up in Mtv, Nintendo, SUVs, and excesses of suburban living where all those frat boys undoubtedly come from. But more importantly, the author also wrote that the administration overstated the severity WMD. Perhaps true, but the administration, and the press, and the pundits on the morning talkshows - essentially everyone but the neocons, UNDERSTATED, what changing the regime in Iraq would do to the Arab world. The Arab street now realizes their governments and press, especially Al Jazeera, have been lying to them. They are asking for change. Hell, Syria has started closing terrorist offices. And there is no doubt Iran is closer to getting rid of the mullahs. Can the frat boys comprehend this? No, their brains are preoccupied with the thoughts of football and beer. That's why we let leaders lead. And the fratboys, well, speaking as a former infantryman, those fratboys make good cannon fodder - their patriotism should not be questioned even if they can't explain it.