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Just so the
commentary I posted earlier from the LA Times political desk columnist doesn’t
leave anyone with the feeling this is an East Coast vs Left Coast perspective… Bolds, color
highlights, mine. KwC Time, Warped Baltimore Sun Editorial, June 29, 2005 If Only it were so. If only it were still 2003 and
President Bush could plausibly argue that progress was on the march in Iraq. If
only it made sense to contend that the war in Iraq was revenge for 9/11 and
Madrid and Bali. If only it were somehow believable that the president sees a
way to bring the conflict in Iraq to a peaceful and triumphant conclusion. Ø
We're fighting the terrorists over there
so we don't have to fight them over here. That's
a musty and bogus argument. Iraq was not a haven for terrorists until the
United States picked a fight and destroyed the previous regime. But even now,
most of those fighting against American troops are Iraqis; every one of them
could be killed and there would still be a ready supply of terrorists from
elsewhere. A comment
like this brings back memories of that unfortunate "bring 'em on"
taunt of the summer of 2003. Ø
We won't let Iraq go the way of
Afghanistan under the Taliban. That's an interesting sentiment, but the CIA pointed out
last week that in fact Iraq is worse than Afghanistan was as a terrorist
training ground, because it offers real experience. Mr. Bush has created a terrorist redoubt
where previously one did not exist. The only way he could think to talk his way out of that was
to try to resurrect emotional memories of 9/11, which he mentioned five times though Iraq had no connection to it, while bringing up
terror or terrorism an average
of once a minute during the 30-minute speech. Ø
Liberty will spread outward from Iraq;
just look at the Palestinians, and at Libya, which has decided to renounce its nuclear weapons
program. That's a
two-edged sword, even though the protracted bargaining over a new Iraqi
constitution just might have a chance to succeed in the end. The point is,
stirrings of democracy among Palestinians are chiefly thanks to the death of
Yasser Arafat. And in Libya, it's worth remembering that Muammar el Kadafi was
once as roundly demonized as Saddam Hussein; yet he was defanged even before
the Iraq war by constant and intelligent diplomatic pressure. That strategy should have been a model
for dealing with Iraq. Ø
Iraq is being repaired. That's not what people in Baghdad
believe; two years after the city's fall, it still is not getting as much
electricity as it did before the war. Ø
Progress is being made. That's not what his generals say. The
insurgency today is as strong as it was six months ago, according to top U.S.
officers. Ø
"We are removing a source of
violence and instability." That's hard to square with the daily
reports of new mayhem. Yes, a precipitate
withdrawal from Iraq would invite mountains of trouble. But the present course
is solving very little, and the president seems unable even to recognize that,
much less plot a better one. It's hard to see how he can be trusted to bring this misbegotten adventure to a
decent conclusion. Also See USA Today ED Bush shifts from
rosy to realistic: "Bush's half-hour speech outlined a
sound, steadfast approach to dealing with the mess that Iraq has become. But
whether it can stem erosion in support for the war remains to be seen. There
was no acknowledgement of the misjudgments that many Americans now see plainly,
but Bush seems unable or unwilling to recognize." http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20050629/edtwo29.art.htm |
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