Frontpagemagazine.com is truly one of the most detestable sites you will find in the blogosphere. Truth, honesty and respect are qualities utterly absent from that site. The past few days, Frontpage held a symposium in Basra [CORRECTION: Vincent was in Basra, the other participants I could not say. It was done by e-mail] titled Iraq: A Report Card. Not surprisingly, Frontpage's report card gave Bush an A+. Business as usual.
But tragedy struck, as one of the panelists, Steven Vincent, a free lance writer, was kidnapped and murdered in Basra.
The killing of any person is a tragedy. Yes, this is but one of tens of thousands in Iraq, most of them Iraqi deaths. Most of them the deaths of innocents. All of them tragedies.
Prior to his kidnapping and murder, Mr. Vincent expressed these views about the Iraq Debacle:
With respects to you and Karl, Jamie, I have to give the war effort a B-. Judging the conflict by Saddam's removal--and thank Allah the monster is gone--is setting a pretty low bar. I mean, let's face it: military-wise Iraq was not Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union. Then you have to factor in U.S failures, such as not sealing the borders or halting the looting--not to mention the fact that American military tactics have widely alienated the very people we liberated. Something's not working right.
But the important point is this: this conflict is not just about killing bad guys, but building a nation. True, maaku Saddam, and yes, there is a democratically-elected government, but when Baghdad lacks power and water, and the road to the airport is life-threatening crap shoot, and I can't leave my hotel here in Basra without Iraqi protection--I can't see much nation building going on.
Insurgents win by not losing. If they keep Iraqis living in misery, then no matter how many "insurgents" we dispatch to Paradise, Amir Zarqawi gets the prize. In assessing the war effort, then, we must also include the quality of Iraqis's lives. Want a grade for that? F.
Mr. Vincent's measured and reasonable response, one can see he supported the Iraq war, was met by the typical sneer and ridicule that the neocons hurl at anyone dissenting from their delusional views. Mr. Vincent met their vitriol with this response:
Jamie, before pulling the rhetorical wagons around the Bush Administration, go back and look over my first response. I'll try it again:
We are at war in Iraq. The criteria for success in this conflict--whether we like it or not--is the quality of Iraqis' life. (Never again should the U.S. get involved in a war where victory is determined by a third party.) Terrorists know this. Therefore, they strive to insure that the quality of Iraqi life is miserable. Miserable Iraqis = failing war effort. (I gave our effort a B- because of Saddam's capture, and the hope Iraqis still maintain for the future.)
And forgive me Karl, but praising America's undeniable military prowess is a bit like the old saw involving the doctor who crows that "the operation was a success, but the patient died." Sure, the surgery was brilliant, the surgery team removed the cancer, but all manner of infectious diseases afflicted the patient in the post-op period. (And again, forgive me, but here in Basra, Mookie Sadr is hands-down the most popular public figure outside of Sistani.)
It must be frustrating to the Punditry to realize that even with all the American blood and treasure expended in this war, the effort hinges on whether an Iraqi housewife feels safe enough to walk to the market. Or parents can let their children go to school without fear of kidnappers. Or businessmen can bid on a construction project without bribing the local elected authorities, religious party members and tribal gangs. Not all these issues are America's responsibility, but all of them are our problems.
You can blame terrorists all you want for ruining Iraq, but at the end of the day, it's our responsibility to make things right--or at least get Iraqis to do the job themselves. Oh, and Jamie? You damn well better feel sorry I can't leave my Basra hotel without Iraqi protection--because last year I could. Six months after the January 30th elections, lawlessness in this city is on the rise, whether by Iranian agents, rouge policemen or opportunistic tribal gangs. Hmmm, considering the bang-up job the Brits are doing here, I think I'll lower my estimation of the war effort to a C+.
Mr. Vincent was no sympathizer of the insurgency. He referred to the insurgents as "Islamofascists." But, it is obvious that he was prepared to view the situation through a realistic prism, unlike frontpage. Of course, it is a horrible tragic irony that the clinching argument was his terrible kidnapping and murder.
It is obvious that my views of the Iraq Debacle differed significantly from his. But one must honor his honest appraisal of the result.
Condolences to his loved ones. May he rest in peace.