On Memorial Day, I argued that, as human beings, we have an obligation to stay in Iraq. One of every eight Iraqi children dies before reaching five years of age. But the new neocon strategy, according to Frank Rich of The New York Times, is to scapegoat Iraqis for failing to end the violence that we started.
The new White House policy, as Zbigniew Brzezinski has joked, is “blame and run.” It started to take shape just before the midterm elections last fall, when Mr. Rumsfeld wrote a memo (propitiously leaked after his defenestration) suggesting that the Iraqis might “have to pull up their socks, step up and take responsibility for their country.” By January, Mr. Bush was saying that “the Iraqi people owe the American people a huge debt of gratitude” and wondering aloud “whether or not there is a gratitude level that’s significant enough in Iraq.” In February, one of the war’s leading neocon cheerleaders among the Beltway punditocracy lowered the boom. “Iraq is their country,” Charles Krauthammer wrote. “We midwifed their freedom. They chose civil war.” Bill O’Reilly and others now echo this cry.
Update: These neocon arguments are pretty close to those I read in the comments to my Memorial Day post, which certainly suggest we should just leave and let them all kill each other. Whether they know it or not, "liberal" bloggers are paving the way for neocons and genocide. Ain't that a kick in the pants?
9 comments:
F you
Anon, that kind of comment isn't helpful. If you disagree with Bernie, then why not take the time to spell out your position?
LVH,
I inspire that kind of reaction. It's a gift, and a step up from the beheading threatened earlier today.
Responsibility is something the hard right likes to champion, but when it comes to responsibility for their own actions and for the well-being of others, the hard right just refuses to take responsibility. The standard blame game is predictable: blame the ACLU, feminists and atheists (or just the standard liberals).
Iraq isn't going away, regardless of what anybody suggests. One way or another, there is a mess and very few in Washington are willing to have an honest discussion on the best methods for resolving those problems. Make no mistake, I think W goes down as the dunce of history on this matter. But whoever manages to salvage this and prevent greater death/destruction than we are all predicting now, will go down as the hero.
Oh Bernie, you big Scnozzola, I still love you. I won't let anybody chop off your head, but shortening your nose might not be a bad idea.
Here's my perspective B, my son is 15, and I'm worried that in the next 5 years the draft will come back, and my son, who studies hard and wants to be a veterinarian someday, will end up in Iraq in a war he had no interest in.
I cry for Cindy Sheehan every time I see her. I also cry for all the Moms in Iraq who have lost their children. What if all the Moms rose up and said we aren't letting our kids fight anymore?
BTNP is crude in his "Nuke'em" approach, and I despise it.
Arabs are people too, but we all have to agree to stop the killing. Whether it be Somalia, Darfur, or Iraq, it takes leadership to stop the slaughter, and America does not have the moral authority or credibility to stop it. Who will rise above it all to lead? I don't see that quality in any of the Presidential pretenders of the two major parties, and I think we are screwed.
P.O'd Naked Blogger,
Here I am, saying what I say, and my daughter goes for basic training in just a few days.
It's funny you should say something about the paucity of our leaders. I listened to Tim Russert interview Richardson, and what a disappointment! They're all slick pols.
The only leaders I really like are Bill Clinton and Al Gore. Clinton can't run, and Gore won't. And Gore supports a phased withdrawal.
Bush Administration won't let us leave IRAQ, so Bush bad.
Now US is looking to leave IRAQ, so Bush bad.
WTF? You libs are sounding like a broken record.
Bernie
You don't understand our buddy in the White House and his neocon handlers. We were in Iraq to empire-build, and until Iraq looks like the US, thinks like the US and takes its beck and call from the US, those in power have no intention of leaving.
Anon 7:06, I'm not so sure. The may decide we "won" and pull out. Or they may decide to abandon those damn Iraqis for not showing enough gratitude.
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