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This is an agree to disagree blog site. I'm pretty sure we will not be able to change the opinion of the other authors, but we will have the opportunity to "fine tune" our political arguments to go after the weak undecided with our back and forth banter and opinion. The only rule is, no personal attacks...be nice to the person, but brutally honest about the idea.
2 comments:
That's a long article, but I skimmed it real quick.
Clinton also tried to paint Obama as inconsistent on the War in Iraq.
Obama's thoughts on the War in Iraq strike me as sincere because they have been very much in line with my own.
I opposed the war in the beginning for several reasons: (1) I do not believe in pre-emption - ever; (2) the WMD and imminent threat case had not been sufficiently made; (3)it is a distraction from al Qaeda; and (4) the unforeseeable events following regime change.
However, now that we are there, we have to behave responsibly. Powell mentioned the Pottery Barn rule: "You broke it, you bought it."
I thought that we waited too long to send more troops. The surge was too little too late.
I said in 2004-2006 that we needed to get out quickly. I also said then that if Kerry (or somebody else I trusted) had been elected, I would be more patient. My interest in withdrawing our troops had more to do with a loss of confidence in Rumsfeld and the rest of the Bush Administration than anything else.
Since 2006, Gates and Petraeus have taken over and impressed me. That is not to say that I believe that the surge is the resounding success it is made out to be or that we need to stay there indefinitely.
I attribute recent positive developments to the Iraqis more than the surge. I'm not sure why the Iraqis became more helpful (Obama's claim that it is due to the mid-term elections is dubious), but it their increased support has been integral.
It seems that supporters of the war have alternative arguments depending on the recent facts. If it is going badly, we can't give up, withdraw in defeat, and allow chaos to reign. If things are going well, we can't abandon the effort just as things turn around and lose all of our recent progress. At some point we have to leave.
This is complicated. There is a middle ground between "all war all the time" and "no war ever". Obama is trying to be responsible and adjust to reality. He is to be commended.
I'm tempted to resign from the blog and just leave you all with, "What Brian said."
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