All right, lets take a moment to examine some typical pundit nonsense regarding Iraq.
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OK, this isn't really fair, but I got this from Powerline. The first section is from arch neo con John Podhoretz.
"Because of the bombs and the bloodshed, and because many critics are desperate to see President Bush discredited and disgraced, the triumph of the political class in Iraq has been little noted. But if it holds, what has happened in the past two weeks will probably be seen as a turning point - and a validation of George Bush's conviction that Iraq could eventually become a democracy.
"I think the outcome, the judgment, of all of this needs to await history," Secretary of State Condi Rice said yesterday. It is conceivable that history's judgment will be harsh. But it is also conceivable that history will regard the difficult American effort in Iraq as a dramatic achievement, all the more so because it was subjected to such withering and defeatist criticism here and abroad during its darkest days.
In truth, we likely won't know whether the Iraq war was a success or a failure, a good idea or a bad idea, for another twenty or thirty years, when the consequences of the effort not only in Iraq, but throughout the region, become clear. For now, we can only guess. But my guess is that our effort in Iraq will succeed, and that that conflict will eventually come to be seen as an important step in the vital process of bringing reform to the Arab world, and thereby defusing the threat of Islamic terrorism."
This isn't an uncommon comment, even from left leaning war critcs - we'll have to wait and see a decade or so whether Iraq succeeds. Here, we are in a realm beyond mere arrogance. First off, let's assume that in 20 or 30 years settles down into some equilibrium that does not involve a strong man lunatic dicator running the country. Anybody ever here of chaos theory? How on earth will we be able to trace back this "success" to the US invasion of Iraq? Was the Korean war the decisive factor in a booming South Korean economy in the 90's? EVERYTHING is a factor in historical terms. Trying to make these connections in such complex matters as human affairs is pure guesswork at best and sheer folly at worst.
Second, think of the absolute disregard for human suffering and misery this argument displays. "Oh sure, you'll live (or die) with the worst privations imaginable for about 30 years, but thats cool, because at the end you'll see we did you a favor." These people cannot and dare not imagine living with 60% unemployment, daily bombings, constant fear, no electricity, and on and on. We are the gods of history after all, the Iraqis are merely players, or pawns.
Finally, the scariest part is the reason they are making these arguments in the first place. Its not just to justify their rather undeserved positions in the social hierarchy that pays them handsomely, thank you. Its also to justify further atrocities. The grand chess game must continue, for our amusement if nothing else. No wonder people hate us. Living in virtual isolation from the burdens of the last century, with abundant resources and now unrivaled military power, we produce morons like this who use their sometimes considerable intellects to ignore the rest of humanity.
And if that weren't bad enough, these are the schmucks we stick on tv to tell us what to think.
Update: I've added a link
http://powerlineblog.com/archives/013446.php