I've been wondering about the possibility that chaos was the original goal of invading Iraq ever since Josh Marshall penned his brilliant article,
Practice to Deceive: Chaos in the Middle East is not the Bush hawks' nightmare scenario--it's their plan.
In the end, the war turned out as Marshall predicted-- Iraq looks more like a post-invasion Lebanon than a city on the hill in the middle east. It is a failed state, and a haven for terrorists.
But what if this is all part of the plan (B)? The failed state scenario? More importantly--what should democrats do?
More follows:
What we should NOT do, is support the liberal hawk view. The latest "liberal" (hawk) article in The New Republic, for example, actually claims Civil War
is the new goal in Iraq:
http://www.tnr.com/...
Vice President Cheney agrees, sort of, claiming the only problem now is "if we lose our nerve and abandon our mission."
So the real question is, what is the best counter-move to Cheney?
In my opinion--the call for unity around the policy of withdrawl. No need to emphasize our differences over when or how--we just need to agree that "stay the course" is a fucked up strategy. And demand that Bush present his exit strategy.
Only the executive branch can map out the exit strategy. It's our goal as citizens to demand it.