Spin Cycle

It's illuminating to see, on the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war, what the architects of this nightmare have to say about it in their inevitable soundbites.

George W. Bush:

Removing Saddam Hussein from power was the right decision and this is a fight America can and must win … The successes we are seeing in Iraq are undeniable ... No one would argue that this war has not come at a high cost in lives and treasure — but those costs are necessary when we consider the cost of a strategic victory for our enemies in Iraq.

The costs are especially necessary because they haven't caused him any problems, money, worry... that must be why it seems so romantic to him - actions without consequences usually do.

Here's liberal hawk Kenneth Pollack:

"Certainly the first four years were about as disastrous as I could possibly imagine. Actually, they were more disastrous than I could have imagined. I am hard-pressed to find a single major decision where the U.S. didn't make the worst possible choice .... Thirty years from now, when historians look back, where are they going to come out? If at the end of the day the U.S. screwed things up for four years and then in the end left Iraq a better place than they found it under Saddam, it may have still been worth it."

Yes, I'm sure Pollack actually spoke out between 2003-2006 about the mistakes and disasters... oh wait:

Iraq, however, may not be doomed to the same fate. For one thing, Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari and his government are far more popular and better-intentioned than President Ngo Dinh Diem of Vietnam and his kleptocratic colleagues ever were. And, because the Iraqi insurgents are as happy to blow up Iraqi civilians as American convoys, they do not enjoy the broad appeal of the Vietcong (let alone the firepower of the North Vietnamese Army).

Defense Policy Board member Richard Perle:

There are lots of problems and after thirty years of a brutal dictatorship, we can’t turn this thing around overnight. But to say we cannot win.

See, thirty years of dictatorship means that you need THIRTY YEARS OF WAR to set things right.

Here's the Iraqi leaders themselves, at their national reconciliation conference:

Oh yeah, they didn't show up. Multiple political blocs and tribal leaders boycotted the conference.

And what would a retrospective be without our pal Fourthbranch:

RADDATZ: Two-third of Americans say it’s not worth fighting.

CHENEY: So?

RADDATZ So? You don’t care what the American people think?

CHENEY: No. I think you cannot be blown off course by the fluctuations in the public opinion polls.

Fitting.

Chutzpah

I'll say this for Richard Perle, in the words of Dabney Coleman in Dragnet, he has balls as big as church bells.

In this op-ed defending himself and attacking George Tenet, Perle claims he didn't tell the President to go after Saddam right after 9-11, and as proof he cites a letter he wrote 10 days after 9-11 that said:

"any strategy aiming at the eradication of terrorism and its sponsors must include a determined effort to remove Saddam Hussein from power."

My head just spun off it's neck, pardon me while I retrieve it.

Is it worse that Perle might actually believe that he didn't advise the President to attack Saddam Hussein, he only advised the President to "remove Saddam Hussein from power"; or is it worse that Fred Hiatt and the Washington Post editorial staff took a look at that logic and said, "Looks good to me, fire up the printing press!"

Ungrateful Bastards

What BarbinMD said. How dare those tens of thousands of protesters not be happy that we got rid of Saddam Hussein for them! How dare they not be thrilled that we gave them all open sun roofs on their houses and cars! How dare they not appreciate the contribution we have made to the Iraqi rubble industry!

I mean, where's that statue of George W. Bush in Baghdad's largest square? I know reconstruction hasn't gone well, but surely they can get a few contractors to put Dubya on a horse!