Posted on 08/15/2008 10:05:15 AM PDT by mojito
Sometime in May 2003, shortly after U.S. forces had taken Baghdad and President Bush landed on an aircraft carrier under the banner "Mission Accomplished," an old friend remarked that he thought the war was going pretty well so far. I shook my head and said I thought we were in for trouble.
I bet him that day that Iraq would be a mess in five years' time, a mess being defined as "you'll know it when you see it." I mentioned this bet to Bret Stephens three years later. He'd reviewed my book, "America at the Crossroads" in this newspaper, accusing me, among other things, of turning against the war only when public opinion had shifted. Mr. Stephens wanted to take the wager himself. And as he wrote in his column earlier this month, I conceded that he'd won by the narrow terms of the wager.
Iraq was a mess by any definition from the fall of 2003 to the beginning of this year. It is entirely possible that it will return to being a mess in the coming months and years. But I paid $100 to Mr. Stephens because a tremendous amount of progress has been made stabilizing Iraq as a result of President Bush's surge -- which has allowed Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to establish control over Baghdad and much of southern Iraq.
Though Iraq remains a very troubled country, virtually all of the trend lines -- Iraqi and U.S. casualties, government provision of basic services, and the ability of Iraqi forces to provide order -- have been moving in a positive direction for the past year.
What I absolutely did not concede, however, was the fact that this change meant that the war itself was worth it.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
In the future if we go to war, we need to expect 40% of our population and 80% or our mass media to support the other side, no matter how repugnant they may be. Until we can get a handle on that, we will be fighting with both hands tied behind our backs.
It also seems to me though that once you are at war the only option as a conservative is victory. Long term, the success of the Bush administration and our reputation as conservatives will be judged based on the outcome of this war. Forty years from now, people will remember that Bush and the conservatives held firm even when things looked bleak and because of this the war was won. Unfortunately, I doubt the 'rats will receive a fraction of the blame they deserve for sabotaging our war effort.
“I happen to agree with him to an extent about Iraq not being the right war...”
Saddam had WMD, he used it, he didn’t account for its destruction as required by 17 UN resolutions and the Gulf War ceasefire. If W did nothing about him, would Saddam be a WMD threat. Of course he would.
Fukyama is never right about anything. He has no credibility.
Just ask yourself: What does the world look like today, if Saddam is still in power? In my opinion, it looks much worse for the US and its interests.
I believe that's Fukudome that you're thinking of ;-)
The end of history guru is smoking up to alter the course of events.
I agree that the domestic political costs to the Republican Party were, are, substantial.
My response is only that this is what patriots do: they sacrifice their self-interest to do what is right for the country, and let history sort out the rest.
In Nov. 1950 the Army 31st RCT was destroyed in 5 days on the east side of the Chosin Reservoir, only 385 doggies out of 3,000 escaped to the 1st Marine perimeter where Chesty Puller threatened to shoot them if they withdrew as much as a foot from their assigned positions.
That was a mess.
This war, in a country with less than 20 million people, could have been mopped up in 18 months with enough troops and letting the Pentagon run over State Dept weenies. Its the length and cost of the war that burned up all the political good will.
Well said- the Repubs carring much of the blame. the Repubs have not defined the Left Wing Demos as they should have- If they would have done what was done regarding the oil drilling issues( that is make it the hill they were prepared to die on ) you would have had a different approach to the war.
The answer is because both parties are at the this giant feeding trough.
This boy images himself as a sort of cross between Tom Sawyer, Santayana and de Toqueville; I see him as a hack with a penchant for verbose proclamations masquerading as studied responses.
And, at the time of the Iraq War Resolution, every intelligence agency in the free world believed this and every politician in Washington understood it.
Recall that, at the time (post-Jeffords), the Democrats controlled the Senate. And that even the Democrat Senators voted 29-22 in favor of the resolution (all 49 GOP Senators voted in favor).
In other words, everybody, literally everybody, believed it was "the right war". At the time.
And, given its success over the long run, there is no question that it is still "the right war".
...al-Qaeda has been utterly decimated.
...an island of democratic government has been established in the Middle East.
...Iran has been effectively surrounded.
...The Islamic "street" has seen who is "the strongest horse".
“History is over.”
What a self absorbed, uber intellectual, monotonal, elitist, can’t-see-the-forest, waste of a mind.
Signature putation; too clever by half.
Honestly, I think we would have mopped up this war in 18 months with the forces we had if it weren’t for all the backstabbers here at home. If the hadjis had looked at America and seen a united front determined to win no matter what the cost, I think they would have given up 5 years ago. Instead, they saw a never ending parade of elected high officials and news media saying that we were losing the war, that it was illegal and immoral and that our troops were war criminals.
Face it, it's much better for his career advancement if he endorses Bambi.
IMO, the explanation here is that simple.
The US Armed Forces found plans for nuclear weapons, parts and plans for enrichment centrifuges and over 500 metric tons of yellowcake and enriched uranium. Iraqi scientists admitted that saddam intended to resume all programs when free to do so. They also found over 500 chemical munitions. Hardly "No WMDS".
I'm sure that the author is also aware that saddam broke un resolution after resolution and did not abide by the terms of the ceasefire that left him in power. The war was not just about wmd and it was not illegal in any way.
bttt
Wonderfully said!
He will be remembered in a similar fashion as Reagan. He ended the threat of big terrorist attacks and systematically reduced their ability to train, finance, and plan new terrorist attacks. The war has only begun. Now we need to transform the middle east from 7th century thinking and discredit islam as a religion.
Yes, and I’m amazed how one man can be so incredibly wrong so often.
Indeed, we have the communication from Zawahiri to Zarqawi stating that the war in Iraq was a 50/50 affair -- half of it being fought on the ground in Iraq, the other half being fought in the media in the USA.
Which is to say that Zawahiri agrees with you...
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