“Signs of Encouragement”
March 11, 2007I was turned on to this optimisitc opinion piece by Robert Kagan by the liberal website Think Progress. I bring it to our attention mostly because it mirrors so closely my own blogging, particularly the sourcing of Iraq the Model.
Reading other posts on Think Progress, you get the idea that they would not agree that the surge is working at all. Their fact check is based entirely on a Washington Post article.
“If I were the president, I’d probably seize on every encouraging sign,” said Anthony H. Cordesman, an Iraq expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “As an analyst, that isn’t what we do.”
The NYTimes looked past all encouraging signs in its Friday editorial.
“Anyone who wanted to believe that all Mr. Bush was seeking was a short-term security push — as part of a larger strategy to extricate American troops from this unwinnable war — now needs to face up to a far less palatable reality. What is under way is a significant and long-term escalation. The Army cannot sustain these levels for more than another few months. And as long as Iraq’s leaders refuse to make significant political changes, the civil war will continue to spin out of control.”
Although they too noted, as did ITm, Kagan, and I, that the fractioning of the Shiite Bloc is a positive development.
What’s becoming clear is that earlier optimism about a short impactful surge, is being tempered by the generals on the ground. This is going to go on for a while.. so let’s just hope for the best, right?
[...] I source them, Haystack sources them, Kagan loves them, WSJ has them write a column..now the Pres….. these guys are really representing.. [...]
Oh my my yes, yes, let’s be really nice and understanding and of course give Our Misser Prezzydint the very best and most generous benefit of the doubt, because it’s hard, it’s really hard work being Prezzydint and all those people asking do you care. Let’s all go get some therapy, shall we? Just before we get all optimistic again?
Is there medical treatment available for SUCKERS?
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Awsome thing.
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Check out the video they have on the page.
Cheers
Marko Fando
In fact, Iraq is being chased off Obama’s table because our economic crisis is far more profound than Obama lets on. The crisis will be obvious if the June referendum on the SOFA does not pass public muster. Then we will have to get out faster than we can get out safely. And it is then that the fraud that was the “victory” in Iraq– just like the “Mission Accomplished”– will be obvious. The Republicans have resorted to taking credit for something that didn’t happen– another 9/11– without explaining what really would have happened and how they have prevented it. As of January they insist that the Iraqi- Afghan Wars are “Obama’s War,” so if things go bad they will insist: you see, it happened on his watch; on our watch neither fell. Obama is stuck trying to end both wars un-winable wars that could exsanguinate America so he can stop the bleeding of dollars as part of saving the dollar from collapse as a result of the bail-outs. It is now clear that Petraeus did betray us. He declared “victory”– admittedly under orders from Bush– but then called it “fragile.” What kind of victory is that? Now if it were a baby, I could understand it being born but frail. But victory usually means an end to war through defeat and disolution of the enemy. In fact, all that Petraeus did was what we were supposed to have done in May 2003: he bought himself allies by giving them guns and cash. But that undermines the political solution because it polarizes Iraqi factions much as did Bremer’s CPA. At some point we will no longer be ABLE to hand out cash. What will the Iraqis do then? It’s much like a surgeon who postones operating a bursting appendix because he want to finish a round of golf. Can he come into the OR and say: the appendectomy was a success but the patient is dying of peritonitis because the appendix burst before the surgery? At the time at which we should have plugged in Iraqis economically into their new freedom. But we allowed unemployment to stay at 80% while US companies on contract were importing Bangladeshies because they were cheap. To know how criminally negligent were Bush, Rumsfeld and Cheney, just imagine how “liberated” felt an Iraqi when the US dismantled the Iraq welfare state that provided him sustenance, insisting that only foreign “free enterprise” can operate there and the foreigners hire only from Bangladesh, leaving Iraqis to starve? Four years later we start spreading cash and guns to the Baghdad Govt’s enemies so they can hold out if Iran takes over through the Shia majority. Obviously, the Baghdad regime will push us out so it can form ties with Iran against all the Sunni states in the area. What will we do then? Surgery postponed is autopsy.