Eugene Robinson: Consider Iraq Defined

[babylonsister]

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20080331_consider_iraq_defined/

Consider Iraq Defined
Posted on Mar 31, 2008

By Eugene Robinson


WASHINGTON—Quite a “defining moment” in Iraq, wasn’t it? At this rate, John McCain is going to be proved right: The war will last a century.

That is indeed what McCain said, by the way, no matter how his apologists try to spin it. Those who claim that by “a hundred years” McCain was talking about a long-term peacetime deployment like the U.S. military presence in South Korea are being disingenuous or obtuse. In and around Seoul, citizens aren’t shooting at American soldiers or trying to blow them up with roadside bombs—and U.S. combat forces aren’t taking sides in bloody internecine battles over power and wealth.

It was George W. Bush who called last week’s fighting in Basra and other Iraqi cities a defining moment for the fledgling government. By that standard, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has been defined as an impulsive leader and an inept general—and his government as a work barely in progress.

snip//

Please note that throughout this episode, you haven’t heard the name al-Qaida. According to Bush and McCain, isn’t Iraq supposed to be the central front in the war on terrorism? Wouldn’t the only plausible reason for continuing the occupation of Iraq be to fight terrorists—rather than help one Shiite leader against another? And what’s the strategic reason for backing Maliki, who recently gave Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a red-carpet welcome to Baghdad, over Sadr, who is believed to be living in Iran, enjoying Ahmadinejad’s hospitality?

Bush’s troop surge, remember, was supposed to buy time for two things to happen: Iraq’s political leaders were to achieve reconciliation, and Iraq’s armed forces were to improve to the point where they could conduct operations on their own. On both counts, we see the results.

If Democrats are going to take several more months settling on a presidential nominee, they had better find some way to stop giving John McCain a free ride on Iraq. He should have to explain why he wants to keep us on George Bush’s long, winding path to nowhere.

[screembloodymurder]

1. Great piece.

How does this POS president get MSM kudos for progress?