Kevin Drum On Iraq War
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in The World, WarHis words. My thoughts.
In other words, democracy is nice â€â€? eventually â€â€? but the bigger issue is kicking over the status quo in the Middle East and forcing change. And the hawks would argue that this is happening. Slowly and fitfully, to be sure, but let’s count up the successes so far: Iraq and Afghanistan are better off than before, Libya has given up its nuke program, Lebanon’s Cedar Revolution is a sign of progress, Egypt has held a more open election than any before it, and the Syrian regime is under considerable pressure.Did the invasion of Iraq precipitate these changes? I think the hawks considerably overstate their case, but at the same time they do have a case. Even if Iraq is a mess, it might all be worthwhile if it eventually produces progress toward a more open, more liberal Middle East. At the very least, it’s an argument that needs to be engaged.
I supported going into Afghanistan. I think all but maybe 14 or 15 people in this country supported that, though.
But when Bush and Co. tried to convince me that Iraq was a clear and present danger, I just didn’t bite. Why? Because it didn’t make sense to me. The evidence seemed flimsy and the other reasons didn’t seem special. See, I knew about the torture, and I knew about the other things Saddam had done, but those same things were happening all over the world.
Sure, after the fact it feels justified because we overthrew a ruthless, murderous dictator. And honestly, who’s really going to answer yes to the loaded question, “Would you rather have Saddam still in power?”
But that’s not the question we should be asking, and everybody knows it. The question we should be asking is, “How do we defeat Al Qaeda?” That’s something that really hasn’t been effectively answered for me, especially when we see thousands of people streaming across our borders every single day. I mean, come on people. Are we really doing everything we can? Hardly.
I guess Kevin talks for those of us on the left who are stuck in awkward position. Yes, Iraq is better off without Saddam. Yes, it may ultimately be worth it? Yes, we think there could have been better uses of our time, money and credibility.
This entry was posted on Monday, October 24th, 2005 and is filed under The World, War. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
October 25th, 2005 at 3:22 am
“How do we defeat alQaeda?” I don’t know and you don’t either; but the status quo was not working. It is useless to argue about whether we should have invaded Iraq. If we had not, how would democracy gain a foothold in the Middle East, by shaking hands with Arafat on the White House lawn?
October 25th, 2005 at 8:17 am
Well, that’s my question jimbo: is Democracy even suited for the Middle East?
Neither of us know, and let’s be clear, it’s a GRAND guess on the Bush administration’s part. By that logic we should seek to overthrow or unseat every dictatorship or faux democracy in the region. Pardon me, but I thought we were fighting terrorism, not dictatorships. Afghanistan was clearly harboring and supporting terrorists. Iraq was a much bigger question mark, and there are many other countries we could have looked at that had strong operational ties to terrorists and the capabilities to create WMDs. It turns out Iraq had weak ties and virtually no capabilities.
But you miss the point of the post. It’s a lament and a exploration of my own thoughts. Allow me to at least publicly ponder this without being so dismissive.