Looking Back at Iraq

Naitonal Review Online ^ | May 26, 2006 | Victor Davis Hanson

[Bahbah]

It seems the terrorists in Iraq have decided to celebrate OUR Memorial Day, by contributing as many dead people as they can....grrrrrrrrrrrrr.

I heard the body count on NPR during a 5 minute drive to the store. It was followed by a hit piece by Daniel Shorr regarding Haditha which was basically about how our military are nothing but a bunch of murderers. BACK TO NEWS FREE DAY!!!!!! (Actually, as I got out of the car, I was thinking to myself how, although I am not a murderer, I could could be turned onto one if Shorr pushes me any further.)

[Txsleuth]

No more NPR for you!!

[Peach]

What a great article by Victor. Thanks for the ping.

I'm reading Warlords which is about Hitler, Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt during WWII. It's pretty interesting to see the parallels in history.

Remember when the war in Iraq began and the leftists started complaining that we were "bribing" our allies to join us in that effort? Roosevelt had to do the same thing pre WWII and post WWII.

[RobbyS]

Obviously the administration was led to believe that there was a "there" there, wheeras there was simply a vacuum of authority. My suspicion is that State and the CIA peruaded Bush not to install an exile government that would have provided something like authority in a revolutionary situation. I believe some sort of Iraqi government could have filled the vacuum, like the 26th of July Movement filled the vacuum in Cuba or, more relavantly, like Degaulle fill the vacuum in France in 1944. Whatever. I do know that in the summer of 2003 that the only authority there was the American army and that the follow on forces, which included my son, were not numerous enough to fill the vacuum.
Why the original invasion force did not remain longer is something that escapes me.