Posted by
Michael on Monday, September 17, 2007 4:38:23 PM
In my opinion,
one of Hitchens' best columns in a while. The ultimate contrarian takes up the ultimate criticism of Bush's "bungling" of Iraq, the decision to dissolve Saddam Hussein's military. The best part is where Hitchens' draws up what the Left would be saying if the military had been kept intact after the invasion:
Take a moment to imagine what would have been written in the liberal
press had the old military class been preserved and utilized to
"stabilize" Iraq. I can write the headlines for you: "Baathist War
Criminal Gets Second Career as American Employee"; "Once-Wanted Man,
Brigadier Kamal Now Shares Jokes With 82nd Airborne"; "Kurds
and Shiites Say: What Regime Change?"; "From Basra to Kirkuk, America
Brings Saddamism Without Saddam." And, if you like, I can add the names
of the reporters who would have written the stories.
I can name some names too, starting with a prospective Senate candidate in Minnesota. I listened to Al Franken for several months on a regular basis back in late 2005, and nearly every single day he would hammer the whole Iraqi military thing into each listener's head as the worst and most idiotic offense a president could make during war. Somehow, I think he would be saying quite the opposite if the decision had been different.
NOTE: Expect a posting of Ron Paul's Seattle University speech shortly.