Amazing how Iraq and Afghanistan have faded from the liberal narrative isn’t it?
VDH:
Six years ago, the conventional wisdom was that Ayad Allawi, then prime minister of the appointed Iraqi interim government, was a puppet of the United States.
Last month, though, the Allawi-led Iraqiya alliance won, by a narrow margin, more parliamentary seats than any other coalition in national elections — and he may become the country’s next prime minister.
The secular Allawi successfully campaigned on the message of curbing religious interference in government — countering the often-argued charge that the U.S. has created a radical Islamic republic in Iraq.
Indeed, as we look back at our years in Iraq, almost all of what once passed for conventional wisdom has been proven wrong.
Yes, there is still terrorist violence in Iraq — especially recently, as the leadership of the country’s next government remains in doubt. And, yes, there are still around 130,000 American soldiers in Iraq. But in the first three months of 2010, the number of American soldiers killed in Iraq was about equal to those murdered in Fresno, Calif.
Meanwhile, Iraq’s democracy has for some time now proven itself independent from the U.S. — and that old antiwar accusation that we entered the war to control Iraqi oil was false.
Last June, the representative Iraqi government held its first oil auction — featuring transparent negotiations in which no American oil company was awarded an oil concession.
Instead, Chinese, Russian, British, French, and other national oil consortia were given the awards. These were legitimate contracts, too — not the sweetheart deals Saddam Hussein used to make with other governments in exchange for international political cover.
After the U.S. removed the monstrous Saddam, many argued that we were only empowering neighboring Iran — and thus that the U.S. and the region were better off when he was in power. Putting aside the morality of playing one dictatorship against another, has theocratic Iran really benefited from the emergence of a constitutional democracy in Iraq?
Currently, the Iranian theocracy is far more unpopular among Iranians than the Iraqi democracy is among Iraqis. Ending Saddam Hussein’s reign in the short term might have been welcome to the ruling Iranian mullahs, but a nearby, functioning, secular, constitutional state — with a Shiite majority — is becoming its worst nightmare. Millions of restless Iranians must now wonder, “If Iraqi Shiites can talk freely on television, why can’t we?”
And so it goes. All the old narratives have faded from the minds of the liberals. Stuff like “the surge was a mistake,” “this will only make Iran more powerful,” “war for oil,” are long forgotten….especially in the MSM.
This has to be my favorite part tho:
Finally, there was the assertion that antiwar protests were all genuinely based on opposition to the American presence in Iraq rather than fueled, in large part, by partisan politics. But since January 2009, when Obama was sworn into office, there have been almost no antiwar demonstrations against the still-sizable American presence there. Popular demonstrations in the U.S. now oppose excessive government, not the war.
And Hollywood has ceased making its usual, unpopular antiwar movies like In the Valley of Elah, Redacted, The Kingdom, Rendition, Lions for Lambs, and Home of the Brave.
Many on the left no longer oppose the Bush-Petraeus plan of slow, graduated withdrawal from Iraq, as this strategy is now sanctioned by President Obama. In the words of Vice President Biden, Iraq may well become one of the Obama administration’s “greatest achievements.”
It’s true that many original supporters of the three-week removal of Saddam Hussein underestimated the ordeal of establishing a constitutional state in his absence. But it’s also evident that many who damned the war did so mainly to embarrass then-president George Bush.
Nothing proves more how unbelievably partisan the left is then the fact that the shrill cries of horror and outrage over the wars have disappeared.
When Bush was in office there was nothing else on the minds of the left.
Now?
Crickets.
See author page
LOL, you know why
Nope. Don’t wonder at all.
There seems to be little point, when the decision that took us there is in the past and those who made the decision are no longer in office. Obama’s current problem is how we can best extricate ourselves without dangerously destabilizing a situation that could easily degenerate into full-blown sectarian civil war.
I think there’s not so much anger about Afghanistan because the reason for our being there is much clearer. I had some very serious questions about our motives for invading Iraq; my dissatisfaction with Afghanistan came from the fact that we weren’t giving it our full attention.
Greg, how the US “extricates ourselves” was decided….. all without Obama… by the SOFA negotiated between Iraq and the Bush admin in Dec 2008.
All Obama needs to do is follow the SOFA… which states that the Iraqis can ask the US to stay, and we’re supposed to honor that request for support if needed.
He’s done nothing but try to take credit for something he didn’t do.
Weren’t giving it [Afghanistan] our “full attention”? LOL It’s a NATO operation, Greg. The US still had more troops and involvement there than the average ally. And since early 2006, Bush had been requesting more NATO troops chip in to do their share. The whole point about Afghanistan that made the lib/progs all warm and fuzzy about it was because it was “an international” face. To have the US overwhelm the NATO presence did exactly what the lib/progs did not want… make it an American action, and not international.
So I’d say if Afghanistan didn’t get our full attention, why don’t you go chat up the committee strategic int’l heads that control NATO’s mission.
CURT;geez,now that you mention it ;it’s absolutly correct;when we see all the problem they did to GEORGE BUSH,at the time,now we know, 🙄 bye
Oh gee Greg, thanks for bringing me back to reality. Of course, I completely forgot that our President is a genius and has completely unraveled the situation in his gigantic brain. I foolishly had the stupid notion that the media gives the regime a pass on everything. Damn, I wish I had studied in schoul mor.
Tom in CA:
Right on dude!! 0-bama has no clue, never had a clue, and the MSM gave him a pass because he was a black Democrat. Oh sorry, did I speak the truth??
And with this in mind, think back, as I have, and start to reflect on the 1960’s, thru 90’s, especially opposition to the War in Viet Nam , The Pentagon Papers, Roe V Wade, Watergate, The S&L crisis, Iran Hostage crisis, Lebanon, Grenada, Pershing missle deployment to Europe, Star Wars, crushing the evil empire , Desert Storm, and on and on…..
The media and the left set the narrative. The left/dems have been fighting politically with Hollywood and the media right there along with them for 50 years. As I’ve looked back, I just wonder how many of the huge events of my younger years really were just like what we’re seeing now so plainly.
Dem’s out of power…. do anything and attack anyone to further the political ambitions of the democrat party and to regain power. Republicans/ conservatives are to be lied about and smeared ruthlessly until overcome. Any lie or mischaracterization is ok as long as it furthers the storyline.
Heck, I forgot lots of stuff. This is what came to mind most readily though. It’s really pathetic when you look back and realize what the media and hollywood and the left have been doing. It’s really pathological.
Why aren’t they crying about Iraq? Because they are busy undermining and causing harm to soon fall on our bravest in Afghanistan. Bigger and better stuff. I’ve scanned through some of the referenced NYTimes articles to see if they are blaming Obama, Biden or Sec/Def Gates, appears the Times is changing their ways, no more vicious accusations lobbed at the president, v-p or sec/def, the new guys are fighting the “right war” it’s the contractors and special ops that are muffing it all up now, so they say.
Brad Thor of Big Journalism/Big Government has been writing a number of posts about the shenanigans of Eason Jordan, Robert Pelton, SOME in the CIA and the NYTimes. I believe our agents on the ground are entirely different from the upper eschelon politicos in the CIA. Our agents are sent into life threatening, horrific situations and deserve our thoughts and prayers just as we do for our troops.
Sorry for all the cut and paste, the amount of material the author provides is overwhelming, shoulda e-mailed all of it to Wordsmith. This definately shoulda been an anybody but me thing. 😉
About Brad Thor
http://biggovernment.com/author/bthor/
After past questionable activities, can you believe our military hired the likes of Pelton and Jordan to help them gain a better understanding of Afghanistan?
http://bigjournalism.com/bthor/2010/03/21/journalists-pelton-and-jordan-get-all-wet-carrying-water-for-inept-cia/
Pelton’s rebuke from the Army:
http://www.mensjournal.com/armyresponse
Hmmm, just wondering what Eason Jordan might do with classified information, naw, he wouldn’t:
http://bigjournalism.com/bthor/2010/03/26/is-a-d-o-d-insider-leaking-classified-information-to-cnn/
Hope to hell this isn’t true:
Why, it’s almost like the Lamestream Media and the Democrats ginned up anger over the wars just to get Barack Obama elected.
We added this post to our ever growing list of evidence of the Government/Media Complex. See more here, http://sosssn.blogspot.com/
Yippie 21 @8:
Don’t forget the Kennedy and King assassinations and the blind eyes turned to the coverup by daddie of Teddy’s dunk tank
— enabling that SOB to ride roughshod over the country for the last 40 years
Then add in Kiss-a$$-inger’s sell out to the chicom$ —
add in the EEO, EPA, Education Dept – and a whole bunch more — and the recent housing authority scams (SHA = Seattle Housing Authority) — building new modern housing for all the turd worlders that are quietly being brought in wholesale and bringing nothing to the table (except their ‘counter culture”) while the elderly and many people who have been here – for many generations are kicked to the curb – live in sub-standard housing etc etc
The old song “where have all the Flowers Gone” – should remake as ” Where have all the maufacturing Jobs Gone” — we are paying more for basic everyday items – particularly clothes – than it would take to make them here — and aren’t even able to make our own staples and paper clips —
The article cited makes no mention of the 3rd leading vote winner and the one that will determine who becomes Prime Minister of Iran. Why no mention ? Is it because the 3rd leading vote block is Al Sadr ? Part of the reason for only small demonstrations by “the left” (whatever that is) is that the troops ARE being withdrawn as Obama promised before his election when this was called “cut and run”. The question is why no demonstrations from the right wing on this cut and run strategy ?
Wow. ‘lil lying johnnie came to the game Farrrrrr too late! All the things he brought up, save for his hero, Sadr, have already been truthfully answered by earlier posters.
Say johnnie! Haven’t seen you at Pirate’s Cove lately. AGW got your tongue?
John: I’ll take a shot at it….
Left defined – Insecure, faux intellectuals willing to lie about intentions at every turn in order to gain power.