So you thought we'd exhausted our supply of necocon, Iraq war-cheerleading chickenhawk Kagans?
Sorry, another one just emerged. Her name is Kimberley Kagan, and she's the wife of uberchicken-uberhawk Frederick Kagan.
And boy, is the Kagan-known-as-Kimberley fit to be tied at the WaPo for not understanding the Dora market miracle.
Fresh Kaganity follows after the break:
Potemkin Story
Understanding the Dora market.
By Kimberly Kagan
It was inevitable that the flood of reporters into Iraq this summer to "evaluate" the results of the surge would produce a certain number of irresponsible stories aimed at dismissing progress, alongside the more numerous accurate depictions of successes and setbacks in a complex environment. Even so, Washington Post reporter Sudarsan Raghavan reaches a low point when describing the Dora market as a "Potemkin village," implying that it is a false showcase of progress concealing real failure. In reality, the Dora market is an amazing success story in its own right, paid for by the blood of American and Iraqi soldiers, and it represents a small part of the critically important success that U.S. forces have achieved in the heart of a neighborhood that had been one of al Qaeda in Iraq’s strongest fortresses.
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...then finally, the Kaganclusion...
In Wednesday’s Washington Post, Sudarsan Raghavan, criticized the Dora market in an article called Weighing the ‘Surge’: The U.S. War in Iraq Hinges on the Counterinsurgency Strategy Of Gen. Petraeus. The Results Have Been Tenuous. The Dora market is a frequent stop for visitors to Iraq assessing the progress of "the surge." Raghavan criticizes the market, and the frequent visits it receives from distinguished guests of General Petraeus: "[T]he Dora market is a Potemkin village of sorts. The U.S. military hands out $2,500 grants to shop owners to open or improve their businesses. The military has fixed windows and doors and even helped rebuild shops that had burned down, soldiers and others said."
Yet when one considers the 300 shops reopened in the Dora market in the context of the past year, rather than in pre-2003 terms (more than 800 shops then, according to Raghavan), it is easy to understand why General Petraeus might think it worthwhile for visitors to see the Dora market. What had once been a burial pit and an insurgent stronghold is now a place of business. Yes, American funds have been used. And no, the opening of the Dora market did not secure Dora. But the clearing of Dora has made possible the reopening of the Dora market — which is now fair evidence of the value of the new strategy and tactics that General Petraeus brought to Iraq. It may seem like a "Potemkin village" to those ignorant of the changes in that neighborhood over the past 12 months — or to those determined to cast doubt on the possibility of American success in Iraq. But to anyone who visited Dora — as I did in May (on two battlefield circulations through the neighborhood, not the market) — while American forces were embarking on the extremely dangerous and difficult task of dismantling the al Qaeda stronghold and fending off JAM fighters, the Dora market is indeed a symbol. It is a symbol of the success that is possible when we persevere in the right approach in Iraq.
There are many, many more words in the middle, wagging the righteous Kagan-y finger at those who would deny that Dora = "the surge is working!"
She should have saved it for the next Kagan family picnic.
Because no one in their right mind would deny that when you send the most massive, high-tech military force in the world into a troubled area, and you're willing take lots of casualties to secure it, you will change things on the ground.
The points every Kagan and Kagan-wannabe ALWAYS avoid, though:
- Can we do this for all of Iraq?
- Despite their lousy political situation?
- Forever?
Answers:
- No.
- No.
- Hell no.
Short-term gains like making Dora market a lovely photo op center are possible, of course. Big duh there.
But the long-term picture is far more complex, and the many, many stated goals of the invasion / occupation move further away with every YEAR we spend there.
One more question:
- Does the Kagan clan think that their pet Iraq project is worth an infinite number of American lives, Iraqi lives, billions of U.S. tax dollars, and years in-country?
Answer:
- YES. Hell, it's not them or any other Kagan over there doing the dying.
And propagandizing in support of this sick bloodbath has become a profitable family business!
What's not to like?