Posted on 04/09/2006 2:26:51 PM PDT by RWR8189
SEVEN WEEKS AGO, I published my case against the Iraq war. I wrote that although I had originally advocated military intervention in Iraq, and had even signed a letter to that effect shortly after the 9/11 attacks, I had since changed my mind.
But apparently this kind of honest acknowledgment is verboten. In the weeks since my book came out, I've been challenged, attacked and vilified from both ends of the ideological spectrum. From the right, columnist Charles Krauthammer has accused me of being an opportunistic traitor to the neoconservative cause — and a coward to boot. From the left, I've been told that I have "blood on my hands" for having initially favored toppling Saddam Hussein and that my "apology" won't be accepted.
In our ever-more-polarized political debate, it appears that it is now wrong to ever change your mind, even if empirical evidence from the real world suggests you ought to. I find this a strange and disturbing conclusion.
For the record, I did change my mind, but in the year preceding the war — not after the invasion. In 2002, I told the London Times that "the use of military power to push [Iraqi democracy] forward is a big roll of the dice. We may not win on this one." On the first anniversary of 9/11, I argued in the Washington Post that we should invade Iraq only with approval from the U.N. Security Council, and in December of that year, I wrote a piece for the Wall Street Journal warning that the project of democratizing Iraq and the Mideast might come to look like empire and that it violated the conservative principle of prudence.
But when my political shift occurred is not important: Even if it had come a year or two later,
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
This guy is the worst. It may not be the end of history, but it should be the end of his career.
A girl always has the right to change her mind.
If his idea of "right" is Charles Krauthammer, the guy is delusional to begin with.
Does anyone really care? He's a lightweight.
His problem is that he thinks that we fought to establish democracy, so if he is not satisfied with Iraqi democracy, then we lost. In fact we already won the war when we toppled Saddam's regime and wasted his psycho sons.
LOL He believed this? He must have believed his own propaganda. This goes under the song = "How Come You Believed Me When I Told You That I Loved You When You Know I've Been A Liar All My Life". One of these days far into the future we will find out why we fought there but this isn't the one.
That doesn't mean one can never change one's mind, but it does mean that there is a certain responsibility to map out a plan leading from the disagreeable place one's recommendations have led to the less disagreeable place to which one now wants to proceed. Having written a couple of books on the topic Fukuyama should not need to be reminded that influence even to the degree of a simple vote carries with it responsibility, and that it isn't enough to do as a good number of Democrats have done and simply shift the blame in pursuit of self-exoneration.
The other real problem is that he was correct when he called this a roll of the dice and that we may not win it, or more precisely everything we hoped to get. But we haven't lost it yet either, and the one certain way to ensure that we do lose it is to give up.
This guy isn't good enough to push Krauthammers wheelchair. There are just no intellectually defensible caes of a conservative becoming a liberal. Unless you find a way to regress back to your 20s, this isn't intellectually possible without getting shot in the head like James Brady.
"The Iraq war" is a historical event which occurred in 2003. Why is he publishing a "case against" it now? That would be my first question.
If he were half as smart as he imagines himself to be, why can't he realize that the current situation is not "the Iraq war" and to speak of it in those terms is misleading at best? The current situation is that Iraq is our protectorate, has a nascent democratic government, which is facing a terror-insurgency. One can hold the position that we should continue to occupy, or not, but can someone please explain to me why the HELL do people still call the whole thing "the Iraq war" as if we're somehow still deciding whether to invade and how to take territory?
From the right, columnist Charles Krauthammer has accused me of being an opportunistic traitor to the neoconservative cause — and a coward to boot.
Actually, he said that you had lied about a speech he gave Mr. Fukuyama, a charge you have not seen fit to answer.
But when my political shift occurred is not important [...]
Dude, you're not important. Talk about being full of oneself.
They're both neocons. There's nothing conservative about either one.
*Ouuuuch*!! Stinging but true...
Why shouldn't he change his mind? I don't care that he changed his mind, I care that he is a proven liar and a complete moron who insists on calling himself a conservative.
What Krauthammer accused him of--and proved beyond doubt--was telling a blatant lie about the content of Krauthammer's speech on foreign policy paradigms given at the American Enterprise Institute. Fukie lied about the subject, about what Krauthammer said about the subject, and added in a fictional crowd reaction.
Mr. "End of History" should have gotten a job teaching arts and crafts after 9/11 made it very clear he had a sic year old's grasp on world events. Piling on with lies and then whining about being called a liar just reveals him for the punk he is.
Hey Francis, guess what--nobody cares.
BING-BING-BING-BING! We have a winner. Thanks to the other contestants for playing, we have nice parting gifts for all of you!
The guy does have an intriguing last name.
I don't care whether you change your mind or your socks.
Mr. Silverback wrote:
> Mr. "End of History" should have gotten a job teaching arts and crafts after 9/11 made it very clear he had a six year old's grasp on world events <
A very astute observation indeed, since -- believe it or not -- Frankie's hobby is none other than WOOD-WORKING. Seriously. Look it up!
Hey, whaddaya know...I guess I'm psychotic! Er, I mean, psychic.
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