Catch this. Sullivan is mindlessly bashing Josh Marshall's article in the New Yorker.
It's important to remember that Marshall isn't some namby-pamby dove. In contrast to many Democrats, he takes national security issues seriously, and is not averse to the use of force. At one point, he even seemed to favor action against Saddam, until it appeared it couldn't be accomplished under perfect and optimal circumstances. After that, he deferred to president Jacques Chirac. So if Marshall hasn't noticed 9/11, what chance is there that the rest of the Democratic foreign policy establishment has? Look, I know I've been critical of the president's domestic shortcomings recently. But in the larger choice in this war there really isn't a choice. It's self-defense or winging it. When the consequences of winging it could be a biological/chemical/nuclear catastrophe in one of our cities, I'm not sure we have any real option but Bush.
- Many Democrats don't take national security seriously? We must be talking about the party that has now fucked up the reconstruction of two countries highly vulnerable to terrorism, essentially ignored hugely important domestic security initiatives, and crippled our ability to wage war on our terms in the near future. Oh wait. No we aren't.
- Opposing the war is 'deferr[ing] to Jacques Chirac'? Thanks, Sully. Wonderfully civil debate we're having.
- Okay, the Democrats haven't noticed 9/11. That must be why they favor complete isolationism.
- The Iraq war was about self defense? I think Andrew Sullivan is in denial. You see, Andrew, every single one of the self-defense justifications for war is complete and utter bull, as is now obvious to all honest people. We now have 150,000 troops in a country it would be disastrous to leave, but where there was no self-defense reason for entering in the first place. Are you safer than you were three years ago?
- The consequences of not invading Iraq could have been biological, chemical, or nuclear war in one of our cities. Even George Bush is talking about "Weapons of Mass Destruction related program activities," but Andrew Sullivan is still Dick Cheney, version 8/2002. Andrew? Are you awake?