[Cross-posted at The Left Coaster.]
It’s always been extremely interesting to me that Senators Clinton and Obama proclaim with varying degrees of intensity that the United States is going to leave Iraq, not that in fact we’ve lost the war. One would think in the natural order of things leadership would state the obvious fact we’ve lost, thus we are leaving, but employing logic has never been a strong American political trait.
Reality will ultimately intrude into the tragedy of the Iraq war, someday, and when that day finally arrives the Age of Non-Partisanship heralded by Senator Obama will face its ultimate test, for no matter the truth the reptilian lizard brain of the Republican Party--vomited forth just last week as Bush sneered at the realists as "appeasers"—will endlessly scream we never would have lost if you hadn’t proclaimed us losers! We lost because we gave up from wimp loser liberals!
We lost because we were lied to, and it’s impossible to build a democracy for violent tribal people who don’t want it. Can that very basic reality be hammered home so that liberals won’t be blamed for losing in the ridiculous conventional wisdom of American politics? Such is one of the greatest challenges facing the liberal community and Democratic Party.
Will another replay from Vietnam—total abdication of responsibility for vast heinous war crimes—be with us after losing in Iraq? Kissinger and all the rest still alive freely walk among us, proud of what they did and unsurprisingly calling for more war, blood, torture, maiming and death whenever we can inflict it. Not prosecuting these sorry excuses for Americans legitimized their crimes in a way they were and are happy to exploit for future wars.
Digby and Glenn Greenwald have vividly reminded us that another curse from Vietnam has arrived again with the Iraq war, legions of weenie fighter wannabees who know damn well they were dickless for not enlisting while cheering on the war and will now spend the rest of their lives spilling the blood of others to try and prove they’re not pansies. If the messaging for why we lost is not correct for Iraq, will these furtive American souls some day wreak untold havoc among us again?
There are extremely serious tactical elements to losing to the Iraq war as well, and even if the reasons for starting it were clownishly stupid and criminal if 10,000 casualties occur in six hellish weeks of chaotic retreat on a Democrat’s watch a terrible political price could be paid in the land of Drudge and Chris Mathews. I’ve never believed in any of the extreme foolishness of "phased withdrawal" for precisely this reason, an enemy that’s shooting at you is not going to abide by those stupid calendars, Jesus, tactically the best option is always to get everybody out as fast as possible.
No one ever mentioned that this precise scenario was put in play by Senator Clinton six weeks ago when she vociferously stated America would leave Iraq in 30 days if she won the Presidency. What if, in fact, she had gone on to win in November? For approximately 70 days the Marines and the Army would be in a leadership limbo, knowing that almost immediately they’d be bugging the hell out, but not yet. Of course the enemy would know too, which puts our troops in a very bad place, when your enemy knows you’re on the run it’s not very wise to stand there.
Senator Obama will face some kind of the same scenario if he wins in November, it’s inevitable. What will our earnest fighting generals in the Pentagon do then, dig in their heels so they can blame the liberals for the troops dying because President Elect Obama made us lose? Who’s going to stop them or remove them, Cheney? Or will they put politics aside and order the troops into the most safe, defensive positions possible?
All of these are extremely difficult issues and problems there really are no good answers for, just a lot of obvious terrible political risks. One thing is certain, however: very soon the Bush Age of Total Obdurate Denial—no matter how may die and are maimed for nothing—will be over, Americans will demand with utter finality that the total nightmare of the Iraq war end, end now, and the singular political message of "we’re leaving" won’t be nearly good enough to handle it.