This is a follow-on to:
Repubs to abandon Iraq soon, blame Democrats by Rick B.
The Next Long-Term Narrative -- Democrats Lost Iraq by davej
GOP Reverses History and Wins Vietnam War!!! by thereisnospoon
with a survey of recent related diaries below the jump.
Bush's war was unwinnable from the day it started. He and his administration compounded this fact by blowing every major decision (disbanding the Iraqi army, occupying force too small, cutting out the State Dept., etc.). The Republican Congress further compounded the war's unwinnability by shirking oversight responsibility. Almost all indicators as to the success of the war effort continue to trend negative.
I could go on, but we know all of this. If the end "mission" in Iraq is a lasting free and democratic society, we lost. The only responsible course of action is to withdraw (with the speed of that withdrawl up for reasonable debate).
It's likely that the Republicans will essentially accept the need to withdraw and do so. Simultaneously, they will blame Democrats for losing Iraq.
How do we counter this? We have to write the history now. The facts alone will not set us free. There are some good ideas in the diaries linked here... We need some serious frameshop honing, with our own set of talking points and counters to all of the Republican ones.
For example: Republicans may accuse Democrats of politicizing the war, but the real way to politicize the war would be for Democrats to stand aside and let Iraq gradually implode under Republican management. Although theoretically it's kind of tempting, it would be grossly irresponsible to Democrats' duties in representing their constituents. Dems could counter Republican accusations by saying, "What would you have us do?" and then bring up this point.
Also, we have to turn the "dissent is treason" talking point around on Republicans.
We must cement this war as the conservatives' war in the permanent public memory, a war in which the Bush administration got everything it wanted (unilateralism, minimal forces, no-bid Halliburton contracts, even torture!) and still utterly blew it. If we don't, many conservatives will think it was again merely a matter of implementation, rather than the war itself. Then we'll have to re-fight Vietnam once more in another 35 years.
Additional related goals:
Convince as many conservatives as possible that making allies by force is a fallacy, and marginalize make those who say otherwise. Supporting points: U.S. fighter jets have bombed Iraqi bridges in order to deny them to insurgents; we wrecked the entire city of Falluja... We're destroying the country in order to save it.
Educate the public on why process is important. Good government that actually follows the Constitution--official declaration of war by Congress so that they can't pass the buck to the President, federal expenditures only according to what Congress has passed (see the unauthorized reallocation of Afghanistan resources to Iraq) so that the President is accountable to Congress, etc.--best serves everyone's life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.
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Recent related diaries:
It's not about "will." by opus
Rewriting Vietnam by topazpilot
Groundhog Day: the persistence of Nixonism by ANKOSS
Make Murtha's Plan a Movement by nlacey
Why Murtha Is Right: The Case For Withdrawl. by pb
Fog of War by Hunter
Give War A Chance by jasonscorse
The PNAC Boys Weigh In by Coldblue Steele
Simply put: Iraq war a waste of time, money, lives by makemefree
Repubs Schmidt, Davis Smear Murtha, Liberals, Democrats by Curt Matlock
Bush has "cut and run" from reality. or how to use "cut and run" strategically by leffjesh