It’s been a discouraging weekend for the Lieberman-Kristol-McCain contingent. Yesterday, Jonathan Finer explained that their visits to Baghdad — after which they boast of widespread “progress” — are scripted, largely “ceremonial” visits. Their “epiphanies” aren’t based on much, and shouldn’t be taken too seriously.
Today, champions of the Bush administration’s Iraq policy suffered another indignity with a powerful NYT op-ed from seven infantrymen and noncommissioned officers with the 82nd Airborne Division, who will soon be returning home frustrated and jaded.
Joe Klein said the troops’ piece “puts to shame — and shame is the appropriate word — all the Kristol, McCain, Lieberman, Pollack and O’Hanlon etc etc cheerleading of the past two months.” I think that’s exactly right. From the op-ed:
Viewed from Iraq at the tail end of a 15-month deployment, the political debate in Washington is indeed surreal. Counterinsurgency is, by definition, a competition between insurgents and counterinsurgents for the control and support of a population. To believe that Americans, with an occupying force that long ago outlived its reluctant welcome, can win over a recalcitrant local population and win this counterinsurgency is far-fetched. As responsible infantrymen and noncommissioned officers with the 82nd Airborne Division soon heading back home, we are skeptical of recent press coverage portraying the conflict as increasingly manageable and feel it has neglected the mounting civil, political and social unrest we see every day. […]
Given the situation, it is important not to assess security from an American-centered perspective. The ability of, say, American observers to safely walk down the streets of formerly violent towns is not a resounding indicator of security. What matters is the experience of the local citizenry and the future of our counterinsurgency. When we take this view, we see that a vast majority of Iraqis feel increasingly insecure and view us as an occupation force that has failed to produce normalcy after four years and is increasingly unlikely to do so as we continue to arm each warring side. […]
In the end, we need to recognize that our presence may have released Iraqis from the grip of a tyrant, but that it has also robbed them of their self-respect. They will soon realize that the best way to regain dignity is to call us what we are — an army of occupation — and force our withdrawal.
Read the whole thing, but keep a couple of things in mind. First, these seven members of the 82nd Airborne are showing courage on the battlefield, but they’re also showing political courage in writing this piece while serving on active duty. This isn’t an op-ed that is going to be well received at the White House, so kudos to all of them.
Second, like John Cole, I can’t help but wonder how the right will respond to something like this. I suppose there will be a temptation to kick the Smear Machine into high gear, but it’s probably more likely that conservatives will simply pretend the op-ed doesn’t exist. It would be far easier than challenging the piece’s conclusions.
