Saturday, April 12, 2003

Conservativism Triumphant

Well you have Liberals apologizing.

Paul Wolfowitz thought U.S. forces would be greeted as liberators in Iraq. I did not. His prediction in this case, was correct. I was wrong. (And not for the last time, I’m guessing.)

I hope Mr. Wolfowitz has equally good luck in the rest of his predictions since they seem to be driving U.S. foreign policy right now. I’d be amazed, and the consequences of his being wrong will likely be catastrophic for this country, but as I said, I’ve been wrong before. And as far as the Iraqi liberation goes, I’m extremely pleased to be wrong this time, at least in the short run. And if the Bush Administration’s past history is any guide, the short run is just about all the Iraqis can expect to enjoy.

Eric Alterman

And you have Conservatives crowing.

I want to rub it in the anti-war crowd's face so badly. I want to hear the protesters explain why it's a bad thing we released more than 100 children from an Iraqi gulag for underage political prisoners. I want them to talk about how they were fighting for the Iraqi people as the Iraqi people hug and kiss the American forces in Baghdad and greet the human shields with signs reading "Go Home You Wankers." I want them to explain why it wasn't worth it.
Jonah Goldberg

So it's a nice week to be a conservative. But of course the real question is (and always is, I suppose) now what? Most of the more reasoned arguments against the war dealt with this what's ahead of us, not what we have done. Some predicted that the war would be harder than it was; more predicted the war would be quick, although perhaps a bit more bloody. But the real question is now, what are we going to do to keep our promises to the Iraqi people? Are we going to take the time and the effort required to help them, or are we going to make a half hearted effort and then disappear? I hope it is the former; I believe it will be. But we need to keep pressure on the white house to make this happen.

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