Posted on 12/24/2006 4:49:22 AM PST by Nicholas Conradin
Thomas Ricks, the distinguished Pulitzer-prize-winning former Wall Street Journal and current Washington Post journalist, has published widely on defense issues, winning the respect of many, both inside the Pentagon and while on deployment abroad, for his disinterested narratives.
Ricks has been to Iraq on five separate occasions in the most dangerous of places, at real danger to his person. His present account, despite the unfortunate sensationalism of its title, reflects personal autopsy, examination of a variety of documents, and his own familiarity with military officers — the vast majority of them in the book apparently disgruntled by the American performance in Iraq. The result is a damning indictment of the initial decision to invade Iraq, of the manner in which the war was conducted, and of the “fiasco” that resulted and now confronts us.
(Excerpt) Read more at victorhanson.com ...
ping
VDH has good judgement, and this is not a positive review of the book. I won't be purchasing "Fiasco".
I don't give a damn how many times he's been to Iraq or how many GOs he knows. He's a journalist with an agenda and cannot be trusted to seperate truth from fiction. Period.
Title says all I need to know about this book. Its more liberal, anti-war propaganda.
Doesn't look to me like a full frontal attack on Ricks that one might expect. Rather, it appears to me VDH is trying to draw Ricks out.
There is a problem in the Iraq operation.
It's called the US State Department. Now there's a fiasco.
Had the US State Department been run by someone other than the treasonous Powell, this war would've gone a lot differently.
First, we'd've had more combat power to at the start, we'd've had more allies working with us, we'd've exposed the corruption of our enemies, and we'd now be working with more and richer coalition partners on stabilizing Iraq.
Right now, the US would be out of Iraq, getting ready to slap some sense into Syria and Iran, a couple of nations that really need some killing power applied to their loony leaders.
Instead, the treasonous Powell and his incompetent successor allowed our half-hearted allies to weasel their way out of doing the work that must be done there.
That's the real fiasco.
I have no problem with the magnificent job our troops are doing, and if they're allowed to finish this task, we'll live in a safer and saner world.
Ricks is a bozo.
Islamofascism is not an invention, it is very real, and these liberal pogs had better soon start facing it.
The only problem with the iraq invasion is that arabs and saudis in particular have slathered money on all former presidents, state dept. and defense politicos, and legislators in an attempt to have their way in iraq. We had to "consult with our allies in the region" at every step of the way. We were never allowed by our oil masters to go in and wipe out the opposition in WWII style fashion. That would have made life difficult for them.
I agree. The title betrays obvious bias.
"The result is a damning indictment of the initial decision to invade Iraq, of the manner in which the war was conducted, and of the “fiasco” that resulted and now confronts us."
Mmmm. 20-20 hindsight.
How many times has Victor Davis Hanson been to Iraq?
How can a "journalist" with journalist training (leftist view of the world) make such an unsupported assertion? Just because he can write a coherent sentence does not mean he can wax eloquently on subjects he is unqualified to address. His entire book is based on an unsupported assertion that Saddam was essentially contained. That is utter nonsense! And, perhaps the subject of an entire essay or book to understand the military, social, economic, and political context and dimensions of Iraq (and its neighbors) before and during Saddam's rule. I suspect that such an analysis would not conclude that Saddam was contained. The wiggle room is the size of the grand canyon.
review
Beats me and is irrelevant as far as I'm concerned. Ricks is just another "journalist" whore making a buck off a book about his view of Iraq sprinkled with anecdotal "facts" provided in large part by unnamed sources, according to Hanson. I'll take Hanson's word for it and save myself the trouble. You want to read Ricks' book, knock yourself out.
Let me know if you want in or out.
Links: FR Index of his articles: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=victordavishanson
His website: http://victorhanson.com/
NRO archive: http://www.nationalreview.com/hanson/hanson-archive.asp
New Link! http://victordavishanson.pajamasmedia.com/
Irrelevant.
How many times have I had diptheria?
I can still discuss it.
"What would Andy Jackson do?"
I like to think I know...
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